Jeremiah 48

Jeremiah 48:1

The Drought

Jeremiah 14-15 belong together. They are about a terrible drought. We see here again the personal utterances of Jeremiah. The LORD has brought His people into a land of abundant blessing (Deuteronomy 8:7). They would enjoy that blessing if they were obedient. But they have become disobedient. That explains the desolate sight of the land because of a drought about which the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:1). The land is dependent on the rain from heaven. Whether the rain comes is again dependent on their faithfulness to the LORD (Deuteronomy 11:10-15; Deuteronomy 28:23-24; 1 Kings 8:35-36; 1 Kings 17:1).

In short phrases, Jeremiah indicates in the following verses the effects of the drought on land and city, on rich and poor, on man and beast. All prosperity is gone. There is sorrow in Judah (Jeremiah 14:2). The gates, through which food is brought in and where there are often many people to trade, give the picture of languishing, of fading away. Life flows out of them. The gates are also the places where justice is administered. The people who sit there to do that also don’t know anymore what to say. They see no hope of improving the situation, for they sit on the ground in mourning.

The cry of Jerusalem ascends. There will be prayers for rain. However, their pleas are not expressions of repentance for their sinful ways and not a plea to the LORD for forgiveness. There is only crying because of the drought and because of the thirst and famine as a result. The drought and lack of water reflect the dryness of their souls. They have forsaken the source of living water, the LORD (Jeremiah 2:13), and therefore not only their bodies but also their souls are languishing.

Even “their nobles”, the distinguished and considerable people, have nothing to their standing when it comes to having water drawn from the cisterns, for there is no water (Jeremiah 14:3). They don’t have to go out there themselves. They have their servants for that. But their servants return without success, with empty jugs and despondent. They can command their subordinates, but they cannot command God to give water. They have themselves to blame for the lack of rain.

Because there is no rain, the drought has also cracked the ground (Jeremiah 14:4) and there will be no harvest. The farmers are also at their wits’ end. The animals in the field are also suffering from the drought. The doe, known for her care of her young, abandons it before it has grown up and can go its way on its own (Jeremiah 14:5; Job 39:1b-4). The wild donkeys, used to the harsh and dry wilderness life, can no longer breathe (Jeremiah 14:6; Job 39:5-8). They can no longer see anything either, because there is nothing to eat. Their powers fail them. The beasts share in the consequences of the unfaithfulness of God’s people (cf. Romans 8:22).

Jeremiah 48:2

The Drought

Jeremiah 14-15 belong together. They are about a terrible drought. We see here again the personal utterances of Jeremiah. The LORD has brought His people into a land of abundant blessing (Deuteronomy 8:7). They would enjoy that blessing if they were obedient. But they have become disobedient. That explains the desolate sight of the land because of a drought about which the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:1). The land is dependent on the rain from heaven. Whether the rain comes is again dependent on their faithfulness to the LORD (Deuteronomy 11:10-15; Deuteronomy 28:23-24; 1 Kings 8:35-36; 1 Kings 17:1).

In short phrases, Jeremiah indicates in the following verses the effects of the drought on land and city, on rich and poor, on man and beast. All prosperity is gone. There is sorrow in Judah (Jeremiah 14:2). The gates, through which food is brought in and where there are often many people to trade, give the picture of languishing, of fading away. Life flows out of them. The gates are also the places where justice is administered. The people who sit there to do that also don’t know anymore what to say. They see no hope of improving the situation, for they sit on the ground in mourning.

The cry of Jerusalem ascends. There will be prayers for rain. However, their pleas are not expressions of repentance for their sinful ways and not a plea to the LORD for forgiveness. There is only crying because of the drought and because of the thirst and famine as a result. The drought and lack of water reflect the dryness of their souls. They have forsaken the source of living water, the LORD (Jeremiah 2:13), and therefore not only their bodies but also their souls are languishing.

Even “their nobles”, the distinguished and considerable people, have nothing to their standing when it comes to having water drawn from the cisterns, for there is no water (Jeremiah 14:3). They don’t have to go out there themselves. They have their servants for that. But their servants return without success, with empty jugs and despondent. They can command their subordinates, but they cannot command God to give water. They have themselves to blame for the lack of rain.

Because there is no rain, the drought has also cracked the ground (Jeremiah 14:4) and there will be no harvest. The farmers are also at their wits’ end. The animals in the field are also suffering from the drought. The doe, known for her care of her young, abandons it before it has grown up and can go its way on its own (Jeremiah 14:5; Job 39:1b-4). The wild donkeys, used to the harsh and dry wilderness life, can no longer breathe (Jeremiah 14:6; Job 39:5-8). They can no longer see anything either, because there is nothing to eat. Their powers fail them. The beasts share in the consequences of the unfaithfulness of God’s people (cf. Romans 8:22).

Jeremiah 48:3

The Drought

Jeremiah 14-15 belong together. They are about a terrible drought. We see here again the personal utterances of Jeremiah. The LORD has brought His people into a land of abundant blessing (Deuteronomy 8:7). They would enjoy that blessing if they were obedient. But they have become disobedient. That explains the desolate sight of the land because of a drought about which the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:1). The land is dependent on the rain from heaven. Whether the rain comes is again dependent on their faithfulness to the LORD (Deuteronomy 11:10-15; Deuteronomy 28:23-24; 1 Kings 8:35-36; 1 Kings 17:1).

In short phrases, Jeremiah indicates in the following verses the effects of the drought on land and city, on rich and poor, on man and beast. All prosperity is gone. There is sorrow in Judah (Jeremiah 14:2). The gates, through which food is brought in and where there are often many people to trade, give the picture of languishing, of fading away. Life flows out of them. The gates are also the places where justice is administered. The people who sit there to do that also don’t know anymore what to say. They see no hope of improving the situation, for they sit on the ground in mourning.

The cry of Jerusalem ascends. There will be prayers for rain. However, their pleas are not expressions of repentance for their sinful ways and not a plea to the LORD for forgiveness. There is only crying because of the drought and because of the thirst and famine as a result. The drought and lack of water reflect the dryness of their souls. They have forsaken the source of living water, the LORD (Jeremiah 2:13), and therefore not only their bodies but also their souls are languishing.

Even “their nobles”, the distinguished and considerable people, have nothing to their standing when it comes to having water drawn from the cisterns, for there is no water (Jeremiah 14:3). They don’t have to go out there themselves. They have their servants for that. But their servants return without success, with empty jugs and despondent. They can command their subordinates, but they cannot command God to give water. They have themselves to blame for the lack of rain.

Because there is no rain, the drought has also cracked the ground (Jeremiah 14:4) and there will be no harvest. The farmers are also at their wits’ end. The animals in the field are also suffering from the drought. The doe, known for her care of her young, abandons it before it has grown up and can go its way on its own (Jeremiah 14:5; Job 39:1b-4). The wild donkeys, used to the harsh and dry wilderness life, can no longer breathe (Jeremiah 14:6; Job 39:5-8). They can no longer see anything either, because there is nothing to eat. Their powers fail them. The beasts share in the consequences of the unfaithfulness of God’s people (cf. Romans 8:22).

Jeremiah 48:4

The Drought

Jeremiah 14-15 belong together. They are about a terrible drought. We see here again the personal utterances of Jeremiah. The LORD has brought His people into a land of abundant blessing (Deuteronomy 8:7). They would enjoy that blessing if they were obedient. But they have become disobedient. That explains the desolate sight of the land because of a drought about which the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:1). The land is dependent on the rain from heaven. Whether the rain comes is again dependent on their faithfulness to the LORD (Deuteronomy 11:10-15; Deuteronomy 28:23-24; 1 Kings 8:35-36; 1 Kings 17:1).

In short phrases, Jeremiah indicates in the following verses the effects of the drought on land and city, on rich and poor, on man and beast. All prosperity is gone. There is sorrow in Judah (Jeremiah 14:2). The gates, through which food is brought in and where there are often many people to trade, give the picture of languishing, of fading away. Life flows out of them. The gates are also the places where justice is administered. The people who sit there to do that also don’t know anymore what to say. They see no hope of improving the situation, for they sit on the ground in mourning.

The cry of Jerusalem ascends. There will be prayers for rain. However, their pleas are not expressions of repentance for their sinful ways and not a plea to the LORD for forgiveness. There is only crying because of the drought and because of the thirst and famine as a result. The drought and lack of water reflect the dryness of their souls. They have forsaken the source of living water, the LORD (Jeremiah 2:13), and therefore not only their bodies but also their souls are languishing.

Even “their nobles”, the distinguished and considerable people, have nothing to their standing when it comes to having water drawn from the cisterns, for there is no water (Jeremiah 14:3). They don’t have to go out there themselves. They have their servants for that. But their servants return without success, with empty jugs and despondent. They can command their subordinates, but they cannot command God to give water. They have themselves to blame for the lack of rain.

Because there is no rain, the drought has also cracked the ground (Jeremiah 14:4) and there will be no harvest. The farmers are also at their wits’ end. The animals in the field are also suffering from the drought. The doe, known for her care of her young, abandons it before it has grown up and can go its way on its own (Jeremiah 14:5; Job 39:1b-4). The wild donkeys, used to the harsh and dry wilderness life, can no longer breathe (Jeremiah 14:6; Job 39:5-8). They can no longer see anything either, because there is nothing to eat. Their powers fail them. The beasts share in the consequences of the unfaithfulness of God’s people (cf. Romans 8:22).

Jeremiah 48:5

The Confession of the People

The prophet confesses the sins of the people and makes himself one with them by speaking of “our iniquities” (Jeremiah 14:7). He does not speak his confession loudly in the presence of the people. He appeals to the Name of the LORD, while acknowledging that they have sinned against Him with a multitude of apostasies. His only hope and the only hope for the people is the LORD. He is the “Hope of Israel” (Jeremiah 14:8). Jeremiah speaks more often of the LORD as a hope or trust for His people (Jeremiah 17:7; 13; Jeremiah 50:7; cf. Psalms 71:5; Acts 28:20; Colossians 1:27; 1 Timothy 1:1). He alone is their “Savior in time of distress”, as He has so often shown (Judges 3-16).

Jeremiah asks “why” the LORD behaves like a stranger or a traveler, like someone who is only visiting the land for a short time. He would like the LORD to come to them and also to stay with them (cf. Luke 24:29). The previous ‘why-question’ concerns the prosperity of the wicked (Jeremiah 12:1). This new “why-question” concerns the LORD’s relationship to those who do sincerely confess their sins. Why does He keep Himself apart from them?

It is impressive to note that Jeremiah compares the LORD to “a man dismayed” (Jeremiah 14:9), while he himself is characterized by dismay. He makes an urgent appeal to Him not to stand aside as one who does not know how to deal with the situation, or to behave like a hero who falls short in strength to save. Here he resembles the disciples who, also in their dismay, reproach the Lord Jesus for not taking any notice of their distress (Mark 4:38). As Jeremiah does, the disciples cry out to the Lord Jesus, and both Jeremiah and the disciples do not do so in vain.

He pleads the presence of the LORD in their midst and the fact that they are called by His Name. He appeals to Him to do something for His people for the sake of His Name. Even though He should forsake them because of their sins, He cannot forsake them for the sake of His Name. With this he resorts to grace and unconditional promises.

For us, it is also true that we cannot live a moment without Him. Our prayer must therefore be that we will not deviate from Him. If we stay with Him, He stays with us. If we have forfeited all rights to His abiding with us, we can only resort to God’s grace and His unconditional promises in Christ.

Jeremiah 48:6

The Confession of the People

The prophet confesses the sins of the people and makes himself one with them by speaking of “our iniquities” (Jeremiah 14:7). He does not speak his confession loudly in the presence of the people. He appeals to the Name of the LORD, while acknowledging that they have sinned against Him with a multitude of apostasies. His only hope and the only hope for the people is the LORD. He is the “Hope of Israel” (Jeremiah 14:8). Jeremiah speaks more often of the LORD as a hope or trust for His people (Jeremiah 17:7; 13; Jeremiah 50:7; cf. Psalms 71:5; Acts 28:20; Colossians 1:27; 1 Timothy 1:1). He alone is their “Savior in time of distress”, as He has so often shown (Judges 3-16).

Jeremiah asks “why” the LORD behaves like a stranger or a traveler, like someone who is only visiting the land for a short time. He would like the LORD to come to them and also to stay with them (cf. Luke 24:29). The previous ‘why-question’ concerns the prosperity of the wicked (Jeremiah 12:1). This new “why-question” concerns the LORD’s relationship to those who do sincerely confess their sins. Why does He keep Himself apart from them?

It is impressive to note that Jeremiah compares the LORD to “a man dismayed” (Jeremiah 14:9), while he himself is characterized by dismay. He makes an urgent appeal to Him not to stand aside as one who does not know how to deal with the situation, or to behave like a hero who falls short in strength to save. Here he resembles the disciples who, also in their dismay, reproach the Lord Jesus for not taking any notice of their distress (Mark 4:38). As Jeremiah does, the disciples cry out to the Lord Jesus, and both Jeremiah and the disciples do not do so in vain.

He pleads the presence of the LORD in their midst and the fact that they are called by His Name. He appeals to Him to do something for His people for the sake of His Name. Even though He should forsake them because of their sins, He cannot forsake them for the sake of His Name. With this he resorts to grace and unconditional promises.

For us, it is also true that we cannot live a moment without Him. Our prayer must therefore be that we will not deviate from Him. If we stay with Him, He stays with us. If we have forfeited all rights to His abiding with us, we can only resort to God’s grace and His unconditional promises in Christ.

Jeremiah 48:7

The Confession of the People

The prophet confesses the sins of the people and makes himself one with them by speaking of “our iniquities” (Jeremiah 14:7). He does not speak his confession loudly in the presence of the people. He appeals to the Name of the LORD, while acknowledging that they have sinned against Him with a multitude of apostasies. His only hope and the only hope for the people is the LORD. He is the “Hope of Israel” (Jeremiah 14:8). Jeremiah speaks more often of the LORD as a hope or trust for His people (Jeremiah 17:7; 13; Jeremiah 50:7; cf. Psalms 71:5; Acts 28:20; Colossians 1:27; 1 Timothy 1:1). He alone is their “Savior in time of distress”, as He has so often shown (Judges 3-16).

Jeremiah asks “why” the LORD behaves like a stranger or a traveler, like someone who is only visiting the land for a short time. He would like the LORD to come to them and also to stay with them (cf. Luke 24:29). The previous ‘why-question’ concerns the prosperity of the wicked (Jeremiah 12:1). This new “why-question” concerns the LORD’s relationship to those who do sincerely confess their sins. Why does He keep Himself apart from them?

It is impressive to note that Jeremiah compares the LORD to “a man dismayed” (Jeremiah 14:9), while he himself is characterized by dismay. He makes an urgent appeal to Him not to stand aside as one who does not know how to deal with the situation, or to behave like a hero who falls short in strength to save. Here he resembles the disciples who, also in their dismay, reproach the Lord Jesus for not taking any notice of their distress (Mark 4:38). As Jeremiah does, the disciples cry out to the Lord Jesus, and both Jeremiah and the disciples do not do so in vain.

He pleads the presence of the LORD in their midst and the fact that they are called by His Name. He appeals to Him to do something for His people for the sake of His Name. Even though He should forsake them because of their sins, He cannot forsake them for the sake of His Name. With this he resorts to grace and unconditional promises.

For us, it is also true that we cannot live a moment without Him. Our prayer must therefore be that we will not deviate from Him. If we stay with Him, He stays with us. If we have forfeited all rights to His abiding with us, we can only resort to God’s grace and His unconditional promises in Christ.

Jeremiah 48:8

The LORD’s Response Is Judgment

In His response to Jeremiah’s call, the LORD points out the wandering of the people (Jeremiah 14:10). It is a harsh answer. They have not kept their feet in check in their love for other gods, but have used them to run after their gods. That is the reason He is not pleased with them. And because they persist in this, He calls their sins to account and punishes them. Jeremiah is not allowed to pray for the people, because it makes no sense (Jeremiah 14:11).

For the third time Jeremiah is forbidden to pray for the people (Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 11:14). Because of their resolute disobedience, they are beyond help. Intercession is an important duty of a prophet, but Jeremiah is not allowed to intercede during that fatal time. He loves them too much to let them go on their own sinful ways and therefore they will have to feel God’s discipline. That is why He tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people.

In the New Testament, we read of sin leading to death and that for this there should not be made request (1 John 5:16b). When discipline is despised and the Spirit of grace is scorned, there comes a time when it is too late for supplication or intercession. As a final act of the holy government of God, the erring one is put away and the case is dealt with before the judgment seat of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:30). So it is here with Israel. It is too late for them to exercise grace alone. They must now come to know the full government of God.

The LORD does not listen to the cries of His people, even though they are fasting (Jeremiah 14:12). Even their offerings He does not accept. All their fasting, praying and religious activities are worthless. Neither fasting nor offering can bring the people back into God’s favor as long as they bow down to idols. The LORD looks for truth in the heart above all else. If that is lacking, outward signs of repentance are useless. Instead accepting them, He is going to put an end to them by more severe judgments than drought, namely war (the sword), lack (famine) and disease (pestilence). The combination of these three judgments occurs several times in the book (Jeremiah 14:12; Jeremiah 21:7; 9; Jeremiah 24:10; Jeremiah 27:8; 13; Jeremiah 29:17-18; Jeremiah 32:24; 36; Jeremiah 34:17; Jeremiah 38:2; Jeremiah 42:17; 22; Jeremiah 44:13).

Jeremiah 48:9

The LORD’s Response Is Judgment

In His response to Jeremiah’s call, the LORD points out the wandering of the people (Jeremiah 14:10). It is a harsh answer. They have not kept their feet in check in their love for other gods, but have used them to run after their gods. That is the reason He is not pleased with them. And because they persist in this, He calls their sins to account and punishes them. Jeremiah is not allowed to pray for the people, because it makes no sense (Jeremiah 14:11).

For the third time Jeremiah is forbidden to pray for the people (Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 11:14). Because of their resolute disobedience, they are beyond help. Intercession is an important duty of a prophet, but Jeremiah is not allowed to intercede during that fatal time. He loves them too much to let them go on their own sinful ways and therefore they will have to feel God’s discipline. That is why He tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people.

In the New Testament, we read of sin leading to death and that for this there should not be made request (1 John 5:16b). When discipline is despised and the Spirit of grace is scorned, there comes a time when it is too late for supplication or intercession. As a final act of the holy government of God, the erring one is put away and the case is dealt with before the judgment seat of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:30). So it is here with Israel. It is too late for them to exercise grace alone. They must now come to know the full government of God.

The LORD does not listen to the cries of His people, even though they are fasting (Jeremiah 14:12). Even their offerings He does not accept. All their fasting, praying and religious activities are worthless. Neither fasting nor offering can bring the people back into God’s favor as long as they bow down to idols. The LORD looks for truth in the heart above all else. If that is lacking, outward signs of repentance are useless. Instead accepting them, He is going to put an end to them by more severe judgments than drought, namely war (the sword), lack (famine) and disease (pestilence). The combination of these three judgments occurs several times in the book (Jeremiah 14:12; Jeremiah 21:7; 9; Jeremiah 24:10; Jeremiah 27:8; 13; Jeremiah 29:17-18; Jeremiah 32:24; 36; Jeremiah 34:17; Jeremiah 38:2; Jeremiah 42:17; 22; Jeremiah 44:13).

Jeremiah 48:10

The LORD’s Response Is Judgment

In His response to Jeremiah’s call, the LORD points out the wandering of the people (Jeremiah 14:10). It is a harsh answer. They have not kept their feet in check in their love for other gods, but have used them to run after their gods. That is the reason He is not pleased with them. And because they persist in this, He calls their sins to account and punishes them. Jeremiah is not allowed to pray for the people, because it makes no sense (Jeremiah 14:11).

For the third time Jeremiah is forbidden to pray for the people (Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 11:14). Because of their resolute disobedience, they are beyond help. Intercession is an important duty of a prophet, but Jeremiah is not allowed to intercede during that fatal time. He loves them too much to let them go on their own sinful ways and therefore they will have to feel God’s discipline. That is why He tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people.

In the New Testament, we read of sin leading to death and that for this there should not be made request (1 John 5:16b). When discipline is despised and the Spirit of grace is scorned, there comes a time when it is too late for supplication or intercession. As a final act of the holy government of God, the erring one is put away and the case is dealt with before the judgment seat of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:30). So it is here with Israel. It is too late for them to exercise grace alone. They must now come to know the full government of God.

The LORD does not listen to the cries of His people, even though they are fasting (Jeremiah 14:12). Even their offerings He does not accept. All their fasting, praying and religious activities are worthless. Neither fasting nor offering can bring the people back into God’s favor as long as they bow down to idols. The LORD looks for truth in the heart above all else. If that is lacking, outward signs of repentance are useless. Instead accepting them, He is going to put an end to them by more severe judgments than drought, namely war (the sword), lack (famine) and disease (pestilence). The combination of these three judgments occurs several times in the book (Jeremiah 14:12; Jeremiah 21:7; 9; Jeremiah 24:10; Jeremiah 27:8; 13; Jeremiah 29:17-18; Jeremiah 32:24; 36; Jeremiah 34:17; Jeremiah 38:2; Jeremiah 42:17; 22; Jeremiah 44:13).

Jeremiah 48:11

Judgment on the False Prophets

Jeremiah points out to the “Lord GOD” the opponents of the truth, which are the false prophets (Jeremiah 14:13). These are the ‘fair weather’ prophets. They preach pleasant things, things that lull the people to sleep and make them persist in their cherished sins. They dare to do this in the Name of the LORD. It is bad to preach lies, it is even worse to do so in the Name of the LORD.

They speak of peace that the LORD would give, yes, even of “lasting peace”, a peace that always remains and is not taken away. By speaking in this way they encourage the people in their sinful behavior, as if they had no sinful behavior. The hallmark of a false prophet is that he completely leaves out the conscience and does not speak of repentance.

Such false prophets are also many today. They are those people, theologians and church officials, who proclaim, for example, that gay and lesbian relationships are relationships of ‘love’. They are exposed when we see that they are not preaching Christ, but on the contrary are condoning sin. They pass on their own thoughts and not God’s Word. Sin always brings judgment, but false prophets do not speak of sin and therefore do not speak of judgment.

People who live in sin and do not want to break with it, always follow people who give them room to do so and even encourage them in it. We see this in religion and also in politics. There the ‘enlightened’ thinking of mankind is the starting point. That thinking is darkness and quicksand.

The LORD answers Jeremiah that those prophets are lying prophets and He did not send them (Jeremiah 14:14). He knows exactly what they are like, He knows their intent. They are self-serving. What they prophesy, is invented, it’s hollow talk, it doesn’t amount to anything. It is deceit that springs from their own depraved heart. The LORD will bring judgment on them by the sword and by famine, the very means they deny (Jeremiah 14:15). This is the irony of God.

The judgments that the false prophets have denied will also come on the people (Jeremiah 14:16). The LORD will pour out their own evil on them. All of them will perish, they themselves, their wives and their sons and their daughters. They all perish. There is no one to bury them. The people may have been misled, but that does not make them any less guilty. How often have they been warned not to listen to false prophets. The blind people and the blind prophets both fall into the pit (Matthew 15:14). The people themselves are responsible for having listened to those prophets and not turning away from them. Thus the foolishness of the false prophets will be revealed, as with Jannes and Jambres (2 Timothy 3:8-9). Denying or falsifying and twisting what God has said has no bearing on what God has said.

In these verses we see a serious picture of professing Christianity in which we find ourselves. The servants of satan turn the ear of their hearers away from the truth and turn it to fables. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They pretend to be servants of Christ, but they overthrow faith in the truth and the authority of Scripture. They ridicule it and trample on the great and holy truths of the atonement and the eternal judgment that awaits everyone “who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified” (Hebrews 10:29). Those who listen to such preachers with approval will be judged with the judgment that comes on these false preachers.

Jeremiah 48:12

Judgment on the False Prophets

Jeremiah points out to the “Lord GOD” the opponents of the truth, which are the false prophets (Jeremiah 14:13). These are the ‘fair weather’ prophets. They preach pleasant things, things that lull the people to sleep and make them persist in their cherished sins. They dare to do this in the Name of the LORD. It is bad to preach lies, it is even worse to do so in the Name of the LORD.

They speak of peace that the LORD would give, yes, even of “lasting peace”, a peace that always remains and is not taken away. By speaking in this way they encourage the people in their sinful behavior, as if they had no sinful behavior. The hallmark of a false prophet is that he completely leaves out the conscience and does not speak of repentance.

Such false prophets are also many today. They are those people, theologians and church officials, who proclaim, for example, that gay and lesbian relationships are relationships of ‘love’. They are exposed when we see that they are not preaching Christ, but on the contrary are condoning sin. They pass on their own thoughts and not God’s Word. Sin always brings judgment, but false prophets do not speak of sin and therefore do not speak of judgment.

People who live in sin and do not want to break with it, always follow people who give them room to do so and even encourage them in it. We see this in religion and also in politics. There the ‘enlightened’ thinking of mankind is the starting point. That thinking is darkness and quicksand.

The LORD answers Jeremiah that those prophets are lying prophets and He did not send them (Jeremiah 14:14). He knows exactly what they are like, He knows their intent. They are self-serving. What they prophesy, is invented, it’s hollow talk, it doesn’t amount to anything. It is deceit that springs from their own depraved heart. The LORD will bring judgment on them by the sword and by famine, the very means they deny (Jeremiah 14:15). This is the irony of God.

The judgments that the false prophets have denied will also come on the people (Jeremiah 14:16). The LORD will pour out their own evil on them. All of them will perish, they themselves, their wives and their sons and their daughters. They all perish. There is no one to bury them. The people may have been misled, but that does not make them any less guilty. How often have they been warned not to listen to false prophets. The blind people and the blind prophets both fall into the pit (Matthew 15:14). The people themselves are responsible for having listened to those prophets and not turning away from them. Thus the foolishness of the false prophets will be revealed, as with Jannes and Jambres (2 Timothy 3:8-9). Denying or falsifying and twisting what God has said has no bearing on what God has said.

In these verses we see a serious picture of professing Christianity in which we find ourselves. The servants of satan turn the ear of their hearers away from the truth and turn it to fables. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They pretend to be servants of Christ, but they overthrow faith in the truth and the authority of Scripture. They ridicule it and trample on the great and holy truths of the atonement and the eternal judgment that awaits everyone “who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified” (Hebrews 10:29). Those who listen to such preachers with approval will be judged with the judgment that comes on these false preachers.

Jeremiah 48:13

Judgment on the False Prophets

Jeremiah points out to the “Lord GOD” the opponents of the truth, which are the false prophets (Jeremiah 14:13). These are the ‘fair weather’ prophets. They preach pleasant things, things that lull the people to sleep and make them persist in their cherished sins. They dare to do this in the Name of the LORD. It is bad to preach lies, it is even worse to do so in the Name of the LORD.

They speak of peace that the LORD would give, yes, even of “lasting peace”, a peace that always remains and is not taken away. By speaking in this way they encourage the people in their sinful behavior, as if they had no sinful behavior. The hallmark of a false prophet is that he completely leaves out the conscience and does not speak of repentance.

Such false prophets are also many today. They are those people, theologians and church officials, who proclaim, for example, that gay and lesbian relationships are relationships of ‘love’. They are exposed when we see that they are not preaching Christ, but on the contrary are condoning sin. They pass on their own thoughts and not God’s Word. Sin always brings judgment, but false prophets do not speak of sin and therefore do not speak of judgment.

People who live in sin and do not want to break with it, always follow people who give them room to do so and even encourage them in it. We see this in religion and also in politics. There the ‘enlightened’ thinking of mankind is the starting point. That thinking is darkness and quicksand.

The LORD answers Jeremiah that those prophets are lying prophets and He did not send them (Jeremiah 14:14). He knows exactly what they are like, He knows their intent. They are self-serving. What they prophesy, is invented, it’s hollow talk, it doesn’t amount to anything. It is deceit that springs from their own depraved heart. The LORD will bring judgment on them by the sword and by famine, the very means they deny (Jeremiah 14:15). This is the irony of God.

The judgments that the false prophets have denied will also come on the people (Jeremiah 14:16). The LORD will pour out their own evil on them. All of them will perish, they themselves, their wives and their sons and their daughters. They all perish. There is no one to bury them. The people may have been misled, but that does not make them any less guilty. How often have they been warned not to listen to false prophets. The blind people and the blind prophets both fall into the pit (Matthew 15:14). The people themselves are responsible for having listened to those prophets and not turning away from them. Thus the foolishness of the false prophets will be revealed, as with Jannes and Jambres (2 Timothy 3:8-9). Denying or falsifying and twisting what God has said has no bearing on what God has said.

In these verses we see a serious picture of professing Christianity in which we find ourselves. The servants of satan turn the ear of their hearers away from the truth and turn it to fables. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They pretend to be servants of Christ, but they overthrow faith in the truth and the authority of Scripture. They ridicule it and trample on the great and holy truths of the atonement and the eternal judgment that awaits everyone “who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified” (Hebrews 10:29). Those who listen to such preachers with approval will be judged with the judgment that comes on these false preachers.

Jeremiah 48:14

Judgment on the False Prophets

Jeremiah points out to the “Lord GOD” the opponents of the truth, which are the false prophets (Jeremiah 14:13). These are the ‘fair weather’ prophets. They preach pleasant things, things that lull the people to sleep and make them persist in their cherished sins. They dare to do this in the Name of the LORD. It is bad to preach lies, it is even worse to do so in the Name of the LORD.

They speak of peace that the LORD would give, yes, even of “lasting peace”, a peace that always remains and is not taken away. By speaking in this way they encourage the people in their sinful behavior, as if they had no sinful behavior. The hallmark of a false prophet is that he completely leaves out the conscience and does not speak of repentance.

Such false prophets are also many today. They are those people, theologians and church officials, who proclaim, for example, that gay and lesbian relationships are relationships of ‘love’. They are exposed when we see that they are not preaching Christ, but on the contrary are condoning sin. They pass on their own thoughts and not God’s Word. Sin always brings judgment, but false prophets do not speak of sin and therefore do not speak of judgment.

People who live in sin and do not want to break with it, always follow people who give them room to do so and even encourage them in it. We see this in religion and also in politics. There the ‘enlightened’ thinking of mankind is the starting point. That thinking is darkness and quicksand.

The LORD answers Jeremiah that those prophets are lying prophets and He did not send them (Jeremiah 14:14). He knows exactly what they are like, He knows their intent. They are self-serving. What they prophesy, is invented, it’s hollow talk, it doesn’t amount to anything. It is deceit that springs from their own depraved heart. The LORD will bring judgment on them by the sword and by famine, the very means they deny (Jeremiah 14:15). This is the irony of God.

The judgments that the false prophets have denied will also come on the people (Jeremiah 14:16). The LORD will pour out their own evil on them. All of them will perish, they themselves, their wives and their sons and their daughters. They all perish. There is no one to bury them. The people may have been misled, but that does not make them any less guilty. How often have they been warned not to listen to false prophets. The blind people and the blind prophets both fall into the pit (Matthew 15:14). The people themselves are responsible for having listened to those prophets and not turning away from them. Thus the foolishness of the false prophets will be revealed, as with Jannes and Jambres (2 Timothy 3:8-9). Denying or falsifying and twisting what God has said has no bearing on what God has said.

In these verses we see a serious picture of professing Christianity in which we find ourselves. The servants of satan turn the ear of their hearers away from the truth and turn it to fables. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They pretend to be servants of Christ, but they overthrow faith in the truth and the authority of Scripture. They ridicule it and trample on the great and holy truths of the atonement and the eternal judgment that awaits everyone “who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified” (Hebrews 10:29). Those who listen to such preachers with approval will be judged with the judgment that comes on these false preachers.

Jeremiah 48:15

The Grief of Jeremiah

The faith of the people in the words of false prophets again brings great sorrow to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:17). He is instructed to tell that sorrow to the people. The people who have been deceived by the false prophets must pay dearly for it. The enemy sent upon them by the LORD will break them with a great breach and cause wounds that hurt greatly. Jerusalem is again compared to a woman here. The city is called a virgin daughter to indicate that the city has not yet been inhabited by anyone other than its own people.

In his spirit Jeremiah sees the consequences of the coming of the Babylonians. Everywhere he looks, whether in the city or outside in the country, he sees death and disease (Jeremiah 14:18). The people who have spoken with such certainty of peace are walking around dazed. Their talk is over. They now have nothing more to say and no more advice to give. Who would believe them now anyway?

Jeremiah 48:16

The Grief of Jeremiah

The faith of the people in the words of false prophets again brings great sorrow to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:17). He is instructed to tell that sorrow to the people. The people who have been deceived by the false prophets must pay dearly for it. The enemy sent upon them by the LORD will break them with a great breach and cause wounds that hurt greatly. Jerusalem is again compared to a woman here. The city is called a virgin daughter to indicate that the city has not yet been inhabited by anyone other than its own people.

In his spirit Jeremiah sees the consequences of the coming of the Babylonians. Everywhere he looks, whether in the city or outside in the country, he sees death and disease (Jeremiah 14:18). The people who have spoken with such certainty of peace are walking around dazed. Their talk is over. They now have nothing more to say and no more advice to give. Who would believe them now anyway?

Jeremiah 48:17

Confession and Prayer for Help

Although Jeremiah was not allowed by the LORD to pray for this people (Jeremiah 14:11), at the sight of the misery of his people he cannot help but pray to Him for them (Jeremiah 14:19). The LORD is his only refuge in his distress. He cries out to the LORD asking if He has then rejected Judah altogether and if He then truly has loathed Zion. This is a third ‘why-question’. The first is: why does God leave the wicked in peace (Jeremiah 12:1); the second is why does the LORD hold Himself as a stranger to the faithful (Jeremiah 14:8). The third is the question of the discipline that comes upon the people, why it happens.

He cannot imagine that the LORD now loathed Zion, whom He loved so much and in whom He rejoiced so much. What is the reason that He has so smitten them that no healing is possible for them anymore (cf. 2 Chronicles 36:16)? From the word “us” we see that Jeremiah takes the place of the repentant part of the people and identifies with them.

The people desperately look forward to peace, but it is nowhere in sight. There is nothing good from which they can derive any hope of improving the situation. Healing is nowhere to be found either. Instead, they see only more terror. Looking forward to peace is in vain because the people have forsaken the LORD. Therefore, there is terror instead of healing.

No one but Jeremiah knows better why God has so stricken His people and there is no healing. He then gives the answer himself: it is because of their wickedness and iniquity (Jeremiah 14:20). He confesses the iniquity of their fathers and that they themselves have also sinned against the LORD. At the same time, he simply cannot believe that the LORD has made a final end of His people, that He has rejected them forever.

Therefore, he appeals to the Name of the LORD, to His glorious throne, and to His covenant with His people (Jeremiah 14:21). There is no change in the conduct of the people, but surely not in the LORD either? Surely He can bless His people from His own Name and His own government and His own obligations? Yes, He can, but it must be on a righteous basis. He has that basis in Christ and His work on the cross.

Jeremiah’s only hope is the LORD, Whom he compares to the nullities, the idols, of the heathen nations (Jeremiah 14:22). The idols can give nothing of rain – there is still that terrible drought. Only the LORD, Who is the God of His people, can do that (Job 38:25-28). Therein lies the hope of Jeremiah and of the remnant, and therefore they, “we”, look forward to Him, to Him Who “has done all these things”, Who alone can give rain and blessing.

Jeremiah 48:18

Confession and Prayer for Help

Although Jeremiah was not allowed by the LORD to pray for this people (Jeremiah 14:11), at the sight of the misery of his people he cannot help but pray to Him for them (Jeremiah 14:19). The LORD is his only refuge in his distress. He cries out to the LORD asking if He has then rejected Judah altogether and if He then truly has loathed Zion. This is a third ‘why-question’. The first is: why does God leave the wicked in peace (Jeremiah 12:1); the second is why does the LORD hold Himself as a stranger to the faithful (Jeremiah 14:8). The third is the question of the discipline that comes upon the people, why it happens.

He cannot imagine that the LORD now loathed Zion, whom He loved so much and in whom He rejoiced so much. What is the reason that He has so smitten them that no healing is possible for them anymore (cf. 2 Chronicles 36:16)? From the word “us” we see that Jeremiah takes the place of the repentant part of the people and identifies with them.

The people desperately look forward to peace, but it is nowhere in sight. There is nothing good from which they can derive any hope of improving the situation. Healing is nowhere to be found either. Instead, they see only more terror. Looking forward to peace is in vain because the people have forsaken the LORD. Therefore, there is terror instead of healing.

No one but Jeremiah knows better why God has so stricken His people and there is no healing. He then gives the answer himself: it is because of their wickedness and iniquity (Jeremiah 14:20). He confesses the iniquity of their fathers and that they themselves have also sinned against the LORD. At the same time, he simply cannot believe that the LORD has made a final end of His people, that He has rejected them forever.

Therefore, he appeals to the Name of the LORD, to His glorious throne, and to His covenant with His people (Jeremiah 14:21). There is no change in the conduct of the people, but surely not in the LORD either? Surely He can bless His people from His own Name and His own government and His own obligations? Yes, He can, but it must be on a righteous basis. He has that basis in Christ and His work on the cross.

Jeremiah’s only hope is the LORD, Whom he compares to the nullities, the idols, of the heathen nations (Jeremiah 14:22). The idols can give nothing of rain – there is still that terrible drought. Only the LORD, Who is the God of His people, can do that (Job 38:25-28). Therein lies the hope of Jeremiah and of the remnant, and therefore they, “we”, look forward to Him, to Him Who “has done all these things”, Who alone can give rain and blessing.

Jeremiah 48:19

Confession and Prayer for Help

Although Jeremiah was not allowed by the LORD to pray for this people (Jeremiah 14:11), at the sight of the misery of his people he cannot help but pray to Him for them (Jeremiah 14:19). The LORD is his only refuge in his distress. He cries out to the LORD asking if He has then rejected Judah altogether and if He then truly has loathed Zion. This is a third ‘why-question’. The first is: why does God leave the wicked in peace (Jeremiah 12:1); the second is why does the LORD hold Himself as a stranger to the faithful (Jeremiah 14:8). The third is the question of the discipline that comes upon the people, why it happens.

He cannot imagine that the LORD now loathed Zion, whom He loved so much and in whom He rejoiced so much. What is the reason that He has so smitten them that no healing is possible for them anymore (cf. 2 Chronicles 36:16)? From the word “us” we see that Jeremiah takes the place of the repentant part of the people and identifies with them.

The people desperately look forward to peace, but it is nowhere in sight. There is nothing good from which they can derive any hope of improving the situation. Healing is nowhere to be found either. Instead, they see only more terror. Looking forward to peace is in vain because the people have forsaken the LORD. Therefore, there is terror instead of healing.

No one but Jeremiah knows better why God has so stricken His people and there is no healing. He then gives the answer himself: it is because of their wickedness and iniquity (Jeremiah 14:20). He confesses the iniquity of their fathers and that they themselves have also sinned against the LORD. At the same time, he simply cannot believe that the LORD has made a final end of His people, that He has rejected them forever.

Therefore, he appeals to the Name of the LORD, to His glorious throne, and to His covenant with His people (Jeremiah 14:21). There is no change in the conduct of the people, but surely not in the LORD either? Surely He can bless His people from His own Name and His own government and His own obligations? Yes, He can, but it must be on a righteous basis. He has that basis in Christ and His work on the cross.

Jeremiah’s only hope is the LORD, Whom he compares to the nullities, the idols, of the heathen nations (Jeremiah 14:22). The idols can give nothing of rain – there is still that terrible drought. Only the LORD, Who is the God of His people, can do that (Job 38:25-28). Therein lies the hope of Jeremiah and of the remnant, and therefore they, “we”, look forward to Him, to Him Who “has done all these things”, Who alone can give rain and blessing.

Jeremiah 48:20

Confession and Prayer for Help

Although Jeremiah was not allowed by the LORD to pray for this people (Jeremiah 14:11), at the sight of the misery of his people he cannot help but pray to Him for them (Jeremiah 14:19). The LORD is his only refuge in his distress. He cries out to the LORD asking if He has then rejected Judah altogether and if He then truly has loathed Zion. This is a third ‘why-question’. The first is: why does God leave the wicked in peace (Jeremiah 12:1); the second is why does the LORD hold Himself as a stranger to the faithful (Jeremiah 14:8). The third is the question of the discipline that comes upon the people, why it happens.

He cannot imagine that the LORD now loathed Zion, whom He loved so much and in whom He rejoiced so much. What is the reason that He has so smitten them that no healing is possible for them anymore (cf. 2 Chronicles 36:16)? From the word “us” we see that Jeremiah takes the place of the repentant part of the people and identifies with them.

The people desperately look forward to peace, but it is nowhere in sight. There is nothing good from which they can derive any hope of improving the situation. Healing is nowhere to be found either. Instead, they see only more terror. Looking forward to peace is in vain because the people have forsaken the LORD. Therefore, there is terror instead of healing.

No one but Jeremiah knows better why God has so stricken His people and there is no healing. He then gives the answer himself: it is because of their wickedness and iniquity (Jeremiah 14:20). He confesses the iniquity of their fathers and that they themselves have also sinned against the LORD. At the same time, he simply cannot believe that the LORD has made a final end of His people, that He has rejected them forever.

Therefore, he appeals to the Name of the LORD, to His glorious throne, and to His covenant with His people (Jeremiah 14:21). There is no change in the conduct of the people, but surely not in the LORD either? Surely He can bless His people from His own Name and His own government and His own obligations? Yes, He can, but it must be on a righteous basis. He has that basis in Christ and His work on the cross.

Jeremiah’s only hope is the LORD, Whom he compares to the nullities, the idols, of the heathen nations (Jeremiah 14:22). The idols can give nothing of rain – there is still that terrible drought. Only the LORD, Who is the God of His people, can do that (Job 38:25-28). Therein lies the hope of Jeremiah and of the remnant, and therefore they, “we”, look forward to Him, to Him Who “has done all these things”, Who alone can give rain and blessing.

Jeremiah 48:22

No Prayer for Judah

Here comes the LORD’s answer to the previous ‘why-question’ (Jeremiah 14:19). It is again a hard answer (Jeremiah 15:1). The prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much, but in this case intercession by the most influential men of God, men of prayer, will not avail for a people who have deviated so much from the LORD. Moses and Samuel both pleaded with God for the people (Exodus 32:6; 11-14; 1 Samuel 7:9; 1 Samuel 12:23) and He answered their prayers (Psalms 99:6-8). But with such a people as they are today, He cannot have anything to do.

The LORD tells Jeremiah that instead of praying for them that He will accept them, He must send them away from His presence. Instead of bringing them in prayer before God He doesn’t want to see them anymore, they have to go. When God does not want to see someone anymore, it is a terrible judgment. Such a person is given over to death.

Jeremiah 48:23

The Punishment Determined

The LORD is preparing Jeremiah to receive the question from the people as to where they should go (Jeremiah 15:2). That question is closely related to Jeremiah 15:1 where the LORD has said that they cannot go to Him and that He does not want to see them again. The answer Jeremiah has to give is not that they can decide for themselves where they will go, but that they are on their way to their self-chosen destination: to death, by which is possibly meant pestilence, the sword, famine, and prison.

In Jeremiah 15:3 the LORD says what means He will use to punish them. The sword will cause death. The dead will not be given an honorable burial, but the corpses will be dragged away by the dogs, while they tear them up and are devoured by the birds of the sky and the wild beasts. It is the greatest conceivable humiliation for a Jew if his dead body is not buried and then becomes food for the beasts.

This will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth. The punishments come because of Manasseh, for what he has done in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:4; 2 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Chronicles 33:1-11). Manasseh not only overturned all the reforms of his God-fearing father Hezekiah, but he deliberately introduced idolatry and demon worship to defy the LORD. That Manasseh is emphatically called “the son of Hezekiah” here is because of the contrast between such a God-fearing father and such a wicked son. Manasseh’s actions took place some time ago. However, if a sin has not been properly confessed and removed, the consequences remain. The LORD always points to the origin of sin and judgment.

In Jeremiah 15:5, three questions are asked of Jerusalem. The questions are about who will pity them, who will mourn for them, and who will ask about their welfare. The answer is included in the question. There will be no one who pities on them or mourns for them or asks about their welfare. The comfort that lies in the pity of others will not be there for Jerusalem. No one will bother to deviate from his path for a moment to ask how she is doing.

They have to blame themselves, for they have forsaken the LORD, the One Who has always had compassion on them and cared for them (Jeremiah 15:6). But they did not want His care and they went backwards. Therefore the hand of the LORD is stretched out against them in judgment to bring them down. It is over and done with His repentance for the evil He will do to them. He has delayed it so many times and for so long now, but now it must come. He is “tired of relenting”.

The LORD will judge by a winnowing fork the wicked of His people in the gates of the land where justice is done (Jeremiah 15:7). The winnowing fork is used to separate the chaff from the wheat. The chaff are the wicked. They are blown away by the winnowing fork of judgment (Matthew 3:12). By doing so, He will rob His people of children and thereby make the continued existence of the wicked impossible. Once again the reason is given, namely, that they continue in their sinful ways and have not returned from it to Him.

There will also be a great number of widows, which means that many men will die (Jeremiah 15:8; cf. 2 Chronicles 28:6). The LORD brings judgment on “the mother”, that is the people, (not “of”, but) “by a young man”, that is the young power Babylon, “the destroyer at noonday”. At the same time, the LORD says that He Himself will bring judgment on the people. What Babylon is doing is nothing more than carrying out His will. The sudden terror that overtakes the people when the enemy comes is caused by Him.

The childbearing woman who gave birth to seven represents Israel under the LORD’s perfect blessing (Deuteronomy 28:4a). Of that childbearing, nothing remains because of their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:18a). The woman, the people, are languishing, withering away, and will breathe their last (Jeremiah 15:9). While the sun is still shining, the sun of God’s mercy, it becomes night for her because of her sins. What is left of people and goods will be taken away by the enemies.

Jeremiah 48:24

The Punishment Determined

The LORD is preparing Jeremiah to receive the question from the people as to where they should go (Jeremiah 15:2). That question is closely related to Jeremiah 15:1 where the LORD has said that they cannot go to Him and that He does not want to see them again. The answer Jeremiah has to give is not that they can decide for themselves where they will go, but that they are on their way to their self-chosen destination: to death, by which is possibly meant pestilence, the sword, famine, and prison.

In Jeremiah 15:3 the LORD says what means He will use to punish them. The sword will cause death. The dead will not be given an honorable burial, but the corpses will be dragged away by the dogs, while they tear them up and are devoured by the birds of the sky and the wild beasts. It is the greatest conceivable humiliation for a Jew if his dead body is not buried and then becomes food for the beasts.

This will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth. The punishments come because of Manasseh, for what he has done in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:4; 2 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Chronicles 33:1-11). Manasseh not only overturned all the reforms of his God-fearing father Hezekiah, but he deliberately introduced idolatry and demon worship to defy the LORD. That Manasseh is emphatically called “the son of Hezekiah” here is because of the contrast between such a God-fearing father and such a wicked son. Manasseh’s actions took place some time ago. However, if a sin has not been properly confessed and removed, the consequences remain. The LORD always points to the origin of sin and judgment.

In Jeremiah 15:5, three questions are asked of Jerusalem. The questions are about who will pity them, who will mourn for them, and who will ask about their welfare. The answer is included in the question. There will be no one who pities on them or mourns for them or asks about their welfare. The comfort that lies in the pity of others will not be there for Jerusalem. No one will bother to deviate from his path for a moment to ask how she is doing.

They have to blame themselves, for they have forsaken the LORD, the One Who has always had compassion on them and cared for them (Jeremiah 15:6). But they did not want His care and they went backwards. Therefore the hand of the LORD is stretched out against them in judgment to bring them down. It is over and done with His repentance for the evil He will do to them. He has delayed it so many times and for so long now, but now it must come. He is “tired of relenting”.

The LORD will judge by a winnowing fork the wicked of His people in the gates of the land where justice is done (Jeremiah 15:7). The winnowing fork is used to separate the chaff from the wheat. The chaff are the wicked. They are blown away by the winnowing fork of judgment (Matthew 3:12). By doing so, He will rob His people of children and thereby make the continued existence of the wicked impossible. Once again the reason is given, namely, that they continue in their sinful ways and have not returned from it to Him.

There will also be a great number of widows, which means that many men will die (Jeremiah 15:8; cf. 2 Chronicles 28:6). The LORD brings judgment on “the mother”, that is the people, (not “of”, but) “by a young man”, that is the young power Babylon, “the destroyer at noonday”. At the same time, the LORD says that He Himself will bring judgment on the people. What Babylon is doing is nothing more than carrying out His will. The sudden terror that overtakes the people when the enemy comes is caused by Him.

The childbearing woman who gave birth to seven represents Israel under the LORD’s perfect blessing (Deuteronomy 28:4a). Of that childbearing, nothing remains because of their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:18a). The woman, the people, are languishing, withering away, and will breathe their last (Jeremiah 15:9). While the sun is still shining, the sun of God’s mercy, it becomes night for her because of her sins. What is left of people and goods will be taken away by the enemies.

Jeremiah 48:25

The Punishment Determined

The LORD is preparing Jeremiah to receive the question from the people as to where they should go (Jeremiah 15:2). That question is closely related to Jeremiah 15:1 where the LORD has said that they cannot go to Him and that He does not want to see them again. The answer Jeremiah has to give is not that they can decide for themselves where they will go, but that they are on their way to their self-chosen destination: to death, by which is possibly meant pestilence, the sword, famine, and prison.

In Jeremiah 15:3 the LORD says what means He will use to punish them. The sword will cause death. The dead will not be given an honorable burial, but the corpses will be dragged away by the dogs, while they tear them up and are devoured by the birds of the sky and the wild beasts. It is the greatest conceivable humiliation for a Jew if his dead body is not buried and then becomes food for the beasts.

This will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth. The punishments come because of Manasseh, for what he has done in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:4; 2 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Chronicles 33:1-11). Manasseh not only overturned all the reforms of his God-fearing father Hezekiah, but he deliberately introduced idolatry and demon worship to defy the LORD. That Manasseh is emphatically called “the son of Hezekiah” here is because of the contrast between such a God-fearing father and such a wicked son. Manasseh’s actions took place some time ago. However, if a sin has not been properly confessed and removed, the consequences remain. The LORD always points to the origin of sin and judgment.

In Jeremiah 15:5, three questions are asked of Jerusalem. The questions are about who will pity them, who will mourn for them, and who will ask about their welfare. The answer is included in the question. There will be no one who pities on them or mourns for them or asks about their welfare. The comfort that lies in the pity of others will not be there for Jerusalem. No one will bother to deviate from his path for a moment to ask how she is doing.

They have to blame themselves, for they have forsaken the LORD, the One Who has always had compassion on them and cared for them (Jeremiah 15:6). But they did not want His care and they went backwards. Therefore the hand of the LORD is stretched out against them in judgment to bring them down. It is over and done with His repentance for the evil He will do to them. He has delayed it so many times and for so long now, but now it must come. He is “tired of relenting”.

The LORD will judge by a winnowing fork the wicked of His people in the gates of the land where justice is done (Jeremiah 15:7). The winnowing fork is used to separate the chaff from the wheat. The chaff are the wicked. They are blown away by the winnowing fork of judgment (Matthew 3:12). By doing so, He will rob His people of children and thereby make the continued existence of the wicked impossible. Once again the reason is given, namely, that they continue in their sinful ways and have not returned from it to Him.

There will also be a great number of widows, which means that many men will die (Jeremiah 15:8; cf. 2 Chronicles 28:6). The LORD brings judgment on “the mother”, that is the people, (not “of”, but) “by a young man”, that is the young power Babylon, “the destroyer at noonday”. At the same time, the LORD says that He Himself will bring judgment on the people. What Babylon is doing is nothing more than carrying out His will. The sudden terror that overtakes the people when the enemy comes is caused by Him.

The childbearing woman who gave birth to seven represents Israel under the LORD’s perfect blessing (Deuteronomy 28:4a). Of that childbearing, nothing remains because of their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:18a). The woman, the people, are languishing, withering away, and will breathe their last (Jeremiah 15:9). While the sun is still shining, the sun of God’s mercy, it becomes night for her because of her sins. What is left of people and goods will be taken away by the enemies.

Jeremiah 48:26

The Punishment Determined

The LORD is preparing Jeremiah to receive the question from the people as to where they should go (Jeremiah 15:2). That question is closely related to Jeremiah 15:1 where the LORD has said that they cannot go to Him and that He does not want to see them again. The answer Jeremiah has to give is not that they can decide for themselves where they will go, but that they are on their way to their self-chosen destination: to death, by which is possibly meant pestilence, the sword, famine, and prison.

In Jeremiah 15:3 the LORD says what means He will use to punish them. The sword will cause death. The dead will not be given an honorable burial, but the corpses will be dragged away by the dogs, while they tear them up and are devoured by the birds of the sky and the wild beasts. It is the greatest conceivable humiliation for a Jew if his dead body is not buried and then becomes food for the beasts.

This will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth. The punishments come because of Manasseh, for what he has done in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:4; 2 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Chronicles 33:1-11). Manasseh not only overturned all the reforms of his God-fearing father Hezekiah, but he deliberately introduced idolatry and demon worship to defy the LORD. That Manasseh is emphatically called “the son of Hezekiah” here is because of the contrast between such a God-fearing father and such a wicked son. Manasseh’s actions took place some time ago. However, if a sin has not been properly confessed and removed, the consequences remain. The LORD always points to the origin of sin and judgment.

In Jeremiah 15:5, three questions are asked of Jerusalem. The questions are about who will pity them, who will mourn for them, and who will ask about their welfare. The answer is included in the question. There will be no one who pities on them or mourns for them or asks about their welfare. The comfort that lies in the pity of others will not be there for Jerusalem. No one will bother to deviate from his path for a moment to ask how she is doing.

They have to blame themselves, for they have forsaken the LORD, the One Who has always had compassion on them and cared for them (Jeremiah 15:6). But they did not want His care and they went backwards. Therefore the hand of the LORD is stretched out against them in judgment to bring them down. It is over and done with His repentance for the evil He will do to them. He has delayed it so many times and for so long now, but now it must come. He is “tired of relenting”.

The LORD will judge by a winnowing fork the wicked of His people in the gates of the land where justice is done (Jeremiah 15:7). The winnowing fork is used to separate the chaff from the wheat. The chaff are the wicked. They are blown away by the winnowing fork of judgment (Matthew 3:12). By doing so, He will rob His people of children and thereby make the continued existence of the wicked impossible. Once again the reason is given, namely, that they continue in their sinful ways and have not returned from it to Him.

There will also be a great number of widows, which means that many men will die (Jeremiah 15:8; cf. 2 Chronicles 28:6). The LORD brings judgment on “the mother”, that is the people, (not “of”, but) “by a young man”, that is the young power Babylon, “the destroyer at noonday”. At the same time, the LORD says that He Himself will bring judgment on the people. What Babylon is doing is nothing more than carrying out His will. The sudden terror that overtakes the people when the enemy comes is caused by Him.

The childbearing woman who gave birth to seven represents Israel under the LORD’s perfect blessing (Deuteronomy 28:4a). Of that childbearing, nothing remains because of their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:18a). The woman, the people, are languishing, withering away, and will breathe their last (Jeremiah 15:9). While the sun is still shining, the sun of God’s mercy, it becomes night for her because of her sins. What is left of people and goods will be taken away by the enemies.

Jeremiah 48:27

The Punishment Determined

The LORD is preparing Jeremiah to receive the question from the people as to where they should go (Jeremiah 15:2). That question is closely related to Jeremiah 15:1 where the LORD has said that they cannot go to Him and that He does not want to see them again. The answer Jeremiah has to give is not that they can decide for themselves where they will go, but that they are on their way to their self-chosen destination: to death, by which is possibly meant pestilence, the sword, famine, and prison.

In Jeremiah 15:3 the LORD says what means He will use to punish them. The sword will cause death. The dead will not be given an honorable burial, but the corpses will be dragged away by the dogs, while they tear them up and are devoured by the birds of the sky and the wild beasts. It is the greatest conceivable humiliation for a Jew if his dead body is not buried and then becomes food for the beasts.

This will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth. The punishments come because of Manasseh, for what he has done in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:4; 2 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Chronicles 33:1-11). Manasseh not only overturned all the reforms of his God-fearing father Hezekiah, but he deliberately introduced idolatry and demon worship to defy the LORD. That Manasseh is emphatically called “the son of Hezekiah” here is because of the contrast between such a God-fearing father and such a wicked son. Manasseh’s actions took place some time ago. However, if a sin has not been properly confessed and removed, the consequences remain. The LORD always points to the origin of sin and judgment.

In Jeremiah 15:5, three questions are asked of Jerusalem. The questions are about who will pity them, who will mourn for them, and who will ask about their welfare. The answer is included in the question. There will be no one who pities on them or mourns for them or asks about their welfare. The comfort that lies in the pity of others will not be there for Jerusalem. No one will bother to deviate from his path for a moment to ask how she is doing.

They have to blame themselves, for they have forsaken the LORD, the One Who has always had compassion on them and cared for them (Jeremiah 15:6). But they did not want His care and they went backwards. Therefore the hand of the LORD is stretched out against them in judgment to bring them down. It is over and done with His repentance for the evil He will do to them. He has delayed it so many times and for so long now, but now it must come. He is “tired of relenting”.

The LORD will judge by a winnowing fork the wicked of His people in the gates of the land where justice is done (Jeremiah 15:7). The winnowing fork is used to separate the chaff from the wheat. The chaff are the wicked. They are blown away by the winnowing fork of judgment (Matthew 3:12). By doing so, He will rob His people of children and thereby make the continued existence of the wicked impossible. Once again the reason is given, namely, that they continue in their sinful ways and have not returned from it to Him.

There will also be a great number of widows, which means that many men will die (Jeremiah 15:8; cf. 2 Chronicles 28:6). The LORD brings judgment on “the mother”, that is the people, (not “of”, but) “by a young man”, that is the young power Babylon, “the destroyer at noonday”. At the same time, the LORD says that He Himself will bring judgment on the people. What Babylon is doing is nothing more than carrying out His will. The sudden terror that overtakes the people when the enemy comes is caused by Him.

The childbearing woman who gave birth to seven represents Israel under the LORD’s perfect blessing (Deuteronomy 28:4a). Of that childbearing, nothing remains because of their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:18a). The woman, the people, are languishing, withering away, and will breathe their last (Jeremiah 15:9). While the sun is still shining, the sun of God’s mercy, it becomes night for her because of her sins. What is left of people and goods will be taken away by the enemies.

Jeremiah 48:28

The Punishment Determined

The LORD is preparing Jeremiah to receive the question from the people as to where they should go (Jeremiah 15:2). That question is closely related to Jeremiah 15:1 where the LORD has said that they cannot go to Him and that He does not want to see them again. The answer Jeremiah has to give is not that they can decide for themselves where they will go, but that they are on their way to their self-chosen destination: to death, by which is possibly meant pestilence, the sword, famine, and prison.

In Jeremiah 15:3 the LORD says what means He will use to punish them. The sword will cause death. The dead will not be given an honorable burial, but the corpses will be dragged away by the dogs, while they tear them up and are devoured by the birds of the sky and the wild beasts. It is the greatest conceivable humiliation for a Jew if his dead body is not buried and then becomes food for the beasts.

This will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth. The punishments come because of Manasseh, for what he has done in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:4; 2 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Chronicles 33:1-11). Manasseh not only overturned all the reforms of his God-fearing father Hezekiah, but he deliberately introduced idolatry and demon worship to defy the LORD. That Manasseh is emphatically called “the son of Hezekiah” here is because of the contrast between such a God-fearing father and such a wicked son. Manasseh’s actions took place some time ago. However, if a sin has not been properly confessed and removed, the consequences remain. The LORD always points to the origin of sin and judgment.

In Jeremiah 15:5, three questions are asked of Jerusalem. The questions are about who will pity them, who will mourn for them, and who will ask about their welfare. The answer is included in the question. There will be no one who pities on them or mourns for them or asks about their welfare. The comfort that lies in the pity of others will not be there for Jerusalem. No one will bother to deviate from his path for a moment to ask how she is doing.

They have to blame themselves, for they have forsaken the LORD, the One Who has always had compassion on them and cared for them (Jeremiah 15:6). But they did not want His care and they went backwards. Therefore the hand of the LORD is stretched out against them in judgment to bring them down. It is over and done with His repentance for the evil He will do to them. He has delayed it so many times and for so long now, but now it must come. He is “tired of relenting”.

The LORD will judge by a winnowing fork the wicked of His people in the gates of the land where justice is done (Jeremiah 15:7). The winnowing fork is used to separate the chaff from the wheat. The chaff are the wicked. They are blown away by the winnowing fork of judgment (Matthew 3:12). By doing so, He will rob His people of children and thereby make the continued existence of the wicked impossible. Once again the reason is given, namely, that they continue in their sinful ways and have not returned from it to Him.

There will also be a great number of widows, which means that many men will die (Jeremiah 15:8; cf. 2 Chronicles 28:6). The LORD brings judgment on “the mother”, that is the people, (not “of”, but) “by a young man”, that is the young power Babylon, “the destroyer at noonday”. At the same time, the LORD says that He Himself will bring judgment on the people. What Babylon is doing is nothing more than carrying out His will. The sudden terror that overtakes the people when the enemy comes is caused by Him.

The childbearing woman who gave birth to seven represents Israel under the LORD’s perfect blessing (Deuteronomy 28:4a). Of that childbearing, nothing remains because of their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:18a). The woman, the people, are languishing, withering away, and will breathe their last (Jeremiah 15:9). While the sun is still shining, the sun of God’s mercy, it becomes night for her because of her sins. What is left of people and goods will be taken away by the enemies.

Jeremiah 48:29

The Punishment Determined

The LORD is preparing Jeremiah to receive the question from the people as to where they should go (Jeremiah 15:2). That question is closely related to Jeremiah 15:1 where the LORD has said that they cannot go to Him and that He does not want to see them again. The answer Jeremiah has to give is not that they can decide for themselves where they will go, but that they are on their way to their self-chosen destination: to death, by which is possibly meant pestilence, the sword, famine, and prison.

In Jeremiah 15:3 the LORD says what means He will use to punish them. The sword will cause death. The dead will not be given an honorable burial, but the corpses will be dragged away by the dogs, while they tear them up and are devoured by the birds of the sky and the wild beasts. It is the greatest conceivable humiliation for a Jew if his dead body is not buried and then becomes food for the beasts.

This will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth. The punishments come because of Manasseh, for what he has done in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:4; 2 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Chronicles 33:1-11). Manasseh not only overturned all the reforms of his God-fearing father Hezekiah, but he deliberately introduced idolatry and demon worship to defy the LORD. That Manasseh is emphatically called “the son of Hezekiah” here is because of the contrast between such a God-fearing father and such a wicked son. Manasseh’s actions took place some time ago. However, if a sin has not been properly confessed and removed, the consequences remain. The LORD always points to the origin of sin and judgment.

In Jeremiah 15:5, three questions are asked of Jerusalem. The questions are about who will pity them, who will mourn for them, and who will ask about their welfare. The answer is included in the question. There will be no one who pities on them or mourns for them or asks about their welfare. The comfort that lies in the pity of others will not be there for Jerusalem. No one will bother to deviate from his path for a moment to ask how she is doing.

They have to blame themselves, for they have forsaken the LORD, the One Who has always had compassion on them and cared for them (Jeremiah 15:6). But they did not want His care and they went backwards. Therefore the hand of the LORD is stretched out against them in judgment to bring them down. It is over and done with His repentance for the evil He will do to them. He has delayed it so many times and for so long now, but now it must come. He is “tired of relenting”.

The LORD will judge by a winnowing fork the wicked of His people in the gates of the land where justice is done (Jeremiah 15:7). The winnowing fork is used to separate the chaff from the wheat. The chaff are the wicked. They are blown away by the winnowing fork of judgment (Matthew 3:12). By doing so, He will rob His people of children and thereby make the continued existence of the wicked impossible. Once again the reason is given, namely, that they continue in their sinful ways and have not returned from it to Him.

There will also be a great number of widows, which means that many men will die (Jeremiah 15:8; cf. 2 Chronicles 28:6). The LORD brings judgment on “the mother”, that is the people, (not “of”, but) “by a young man”, that is the young power Babylon, “the destroyer at noonday”. At the same time, the LORD says that He Himself will bring judgment on the people. What Babylon is doing is nothing more than carrying out His will. The sudden terror that overtakes the people when the enemy comes is caused by Him.

The childbearing woman who gave birth to seven represents Israel under the LORD’s perfect blessing (Deuteronomy 28:4a). Of that childbearing, nothing remains because of their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:18a). The woman, the people, are languishing, withering away, and will breathe their last (Jeremiah 15:9). While the sun is still shining, the sun of God’s mercy, it becomes night for her because of her sins. What is left of people and goods will be taken away by the enemies.

Jeremiah 48:30

The Punishment Determined

The LORD is preparing Jeremiah to receive the question from the people as to where they should go (Jeremiah 15:2). That question is closely related to Jeremiah 15:1 where the LORD has said that they cannot go to Him and that He does not want to see them again. The answer Jeremiah has to give is not that they can decide for themselves where they will go, but that they are on their way to their self-chosen destination: to death, by which is possibly meant pestilence, the sword, famine, and prison.

In Jeremiah 15:3 the LORD says what means He will use to punish them. The sword will cause death. The dead will not be given an honorable burial, but the corpses will be dragged away by the dogs, while they tear them up and are devoured by the birds of the sky and the wild beasts. It is the greatest conceivable humiliation for a Jew if his dead body is not buried and then becomes food for the beasts.

This will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth. The punishments come because of Manasseh, for what he has done in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:4; 2 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Chronicles 33:1-11). Manasseh not only overturned all the reforms of his God-fearing father Hezekiah, but he deliberately introduced idolatry and demon worship to defy the LORD. That Manasseh is emphatically called “the son of Hezekiah” here is because of the contrast between such a God-fearing father and such a wicked son. Manasseh’s actions took place some time ago. However, if a sin has not been properly confessed and removed, the consequences remain. The LORD always points to the origin of sin and judgment.

In Jeremiah 15:5, three questions are asked of Jerusalem. The questions are about who will pity them, who will mourn for them, and who will ask about their welfare. The answer is included in the question. There will be no one who pities on them or mourns for them or asks about their welfare. The comfort that lies in the pity of others will not be there for Jerusalem. No one will bother to deviate from his path for a moment to ask how she is doing.

They have to blame themselves, for they have forsaken the LORD, the One Who has always had compassion on them and cared for them (Jeremiah 15:6). But they did not want His care and they went backwards. Therefore the hand of the LORD is stretched out against them in judgment to bring them down. It is over and done with His repentance for the evil He will do to them. He has delayed it so many times and for so long now, but now it must come. He is “tired of relenting”.

The LORD will judge by a winnowing fork the wicked of His people in the gates of the land where justice is done (Jeremiah 15:7). The winnowing fork is used to separate the chaff from the wheat. The chaff are the wicked. They are blown away by the winnowing fork of judgment (Matthew 3:12). By doing so, He will rob His people of children and thereby make the continued existence of the wicked impossible. Once again the reason is given, namely, that they continue in their sinful ways and have not returned from it to Him.

There will also be a great number of widows, which means that many men will die (Jeremiah 15:8; cf. 2 Chronicles 28:6). The LORD brings judgment on “the mother”, that is the people, (not “of”, but) “by a young man”, that is the young power Babylon, “the destroyer at noonday”. At the same time, the LORD says that He Himself will bring judgment on the people. What Babylon is doing is nothing more than carrying out His will. The sudden terror that overtakes the people when the enemy comes is caused by Him.

The childbearing woman who gave birth to seven represents Israel under the LORD’s perfect blessing (Deuteronomy 28:4a). Of that childbearing, nothing remains because of their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:18a). The woman, the people, are languishing, withering away, and will breathe their last (Jeremiah 15:9). While the sun is still shining, the sun of God’s mercy, it becomes night for her because of her sins. What is left of people and goods will be taken away by the enemies.

Jeremiah 48:31

The Complaint of Jeremiah

The announcement of the nothing sparing judgment seizes Jeremiah again (Jeremiah 15:10). Here he turns to his mother and expresses woe over her having given birth to him (Jeremiah 20:14; cf. Job 3:3-10). The woe does not concern his mother, but his birth and therefore the LORD. He has wished her a different kind of son than the son he is. She has not been able to take pleasure in him, for his whole life is an affliction.

His complaint does not concern what will come upon the land, but what will come upon himself. Because no one agrees with him and everyone opposes his preaching, he begins to doubt the meaning of his life and service. He sees that people hate him because of his judgments. Everywhere he goes and preaches, what he says becomes cause for division and strife. We too can sometimes feel like being the cause of strife and discord. What a comfort it is that then, when we stand well, the Lord stands up for us.

The cause is not his behavior with regard to greed, for there is nothing to be said about that. For example, he did not lend something, nor did men lend money to him, which could be a cause of discord and lopsidedness (Proverbs 22:7; Nehemiah 5:1-13).

In His answer to the complaint, the LORD reminds Jeremiah with a powerful “surely” that He has taken care of him for good (Jeremiah 15:11). He has stood up for him against his enemies, no matter how those enemies stirred. In every time of calamity and every time of distress, the LORD has been there for him. That Jeremiah would meet opposition, He already told him when He called him (Jeremiah 1:19a). He also promised that He would be with him (Jeremiah 1:19b). This is how the LORD encouraged him.

Jeremiah 48:32

The Complaint of Jeremiah

The announcement of the nothing sparing judgment seizes Jeremiah again (Jeremiah 15:10). Here he turns to his mother and expresses woe over her having given birth to him (Jeremiah 20:14; cf. Job 3:3-10). The woe does not concern his mother, but his birth and therefore the LORD. He has wished her a different kind of son than the son he is. She has not been able to take pleasure in him, for his whole life is an affliction.

His complaint does not concern what will come upon the land, but what will come upon himself. Because no one agrees with him and everyone opposes his preaching, he begins to doubt the meaning of his life and service. He sees that people hate him because of his judgments. Everywhere he goes and preaches, what he says becomes cause for division and strife. We too can sometimes feel like being the cause of strife and discord. What a comfort it is that then, when we stand well, the Lord stands up for us.

The cause is not his behavior with regard to greed, for there is nothing to be said about that. For example, he did not lend something, nor did men lend money to him, which could be a cause of discord and lopsidedness (Proverbs 22:7; Nehemiah 5:1-13).

In His answer to the complaint, the LORD reminds Jeremiah with a powerful “surely” that He has taken care of him for good (Jeremiah 15:11). He has stood up for him against his enemies, no matter how those enemies stirred. In every time of calamity and every time of distress, the LORD has been there for him. That Jeremiah would meet opposition, He already told him when He called him (Jeremiah 1:19a). He also promised that He would be with him (Jeremiah 1:19b). This is how the LORD encouraged him.

Jeremiah 48:33

The Inevitable Judgment

Judgment comes from the north (Jeremiah 15:12). Just as iron and bronze cannot be broken with bare hands, so the people of Judah will not be able to break the power of the Babylonian army. All the wealth and all the treasures will be given to the enemy as booty, without them having to pay anything for it (Jeremiah 15:13). This is the consequence of their sins. The inhabitants will be taken away to an unknown land (Jeremiah 15:14). This fire of judgment that will burn against them has been kindled by the anger of the LORD.

Jeremiah 48:34

The Inevitable Judgment

Judgment comes from the north (Jeremiah 15:12). Just as iron and bronze cannot be broken with bare hands, so the people of Judah will not be able to break the power of the Babylonian army. All the wealth and all the treasures will be given to the enemy as booty, without them having to pay anything for it (Jeremiah 15:13). This is the consequence of their sins. The inhabitants will be taken away to an unknown land (Jeremiah 15:14). This fire of judgment that will burn against them has been kindled by the anger of the LORD.

Jeremiah 48:35

The Inevitable Judgment

Judgment comes from the north (Jeremiah 15:12). Just as iron and bronze cannot be broken with bare hands, so the people of Judah will not be able to break the power of the Babylonian army. All the wealth and all the treasures will be given to the enemy as booty, without them having to pay anything for it (Jeremiah 15:13). This is the consequence of their sins. The inhabitants will be taken away to an unknown land (Jeremiah 15:14). This fire of judgment that will burn against them has been kindled by the anger of the LORD.

Jeremiah 48:36

Jeremiah Doubts the LORD

Jeremiah again turns to the LORD (Jeremiah 15:15). It all becomes too much for him. He asks the LORD to remember him and take notice of him. He knows his innocence, doesn’t He? So why does he have to suffer like this? Jeremiah calls upon the LORD to take avenge for him on his persecutors, the people who make his life so difficult. Let the LORD have patience with him, because for His sake he is suffering reproach. Jeremiah pours out his heart before the LORD. He is accustomed to His presence and speaks confidentially to Him about his distress.

The words of the LORD were food for him (Jeremiah 15:16). As soon as he had found them – meaning that his heart went out to them – and heard them, he ate them up, absorbed them intensely, unlike the people who rejected God’s words (Jeremiah 8:9b). We can also think of the finding of God’s Word in the temple during the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 22:13; 2 Kings 23:2).

Eating the words of God symbolizes identifying with the revealed truth of the Word of God (Ezekiel 3:1-3; Ezekiel 2:8-10; Revelation 10:9). Jeremiah is a prophet to the fullest. His greatest joy is found in the Word of God. That is his food and drink (cf. John 4:34). When he hears God’s words, it makes him whole heartedly happy. He gladly listens to those words (Psalms 19:10; Psalms 119:103; 111), for they come from the mouth of Him Who has proclaimed His Name over him (Jeremiah 14:9). He is the LORD God of hosts, the Almighty, also for Jeremiah.

As a great contrast to the great joy he finds in the Word, he says he has not been in the circle of the merrymakers (Jeremiah 15:17; Psalms 1:1-3). He has not joined in the flat fun of people who mock God’s Word. He has sat alone, not to exult on his own, but because he has felt the hand of the LORD press heavily upon him and His indignation has filled him in his innermost being.

Nor did he in the mind of the Pharisee separate himself in pride. This is evident in the question that torments him why – the fourth ‘why-question’ (Jeremiah 12:1; Jeremiah 14:9; 19) – he must always suffer, why there is no healing (Jeremiah 15:18). Is his cry to Him in vain then? Is He not listening? Is He then after all a deceiver, that although He promises that He is there for him and helps him, He does not do what He says (cf. Job 6:15)?

This ‘why-question’ is actually not a question, but an indictment. Jeremiah accuses the LORD of being like a deceptive stream to him, a stream that promises refreshment but does not give it. These are the ‘why-questions’ of Job. Moses, Joshua and Habakkuk also expressed to the LORD their doubts about His ways, as did the Lord’s disciples (Numbers 11:11; Joshua 7:7; Habakkuk 1:2-3; Mark 4:38).

Jeremiah 48:37

Jeremiah Doubts the LORD

Jeremiah again turns to the LORD (Jeremiah 15:15). It all becomes too much for him. He asks the LORD to remember him and take notice of him. He knows his innocence, doesn’t He? So why does he have to suffer like this? Jeremiah calls upon the LORD to take avenge for him on his persecutors, the people who make his life so difficult. Let the LORD have patience with him, because for His sake he is suffering reproach. Jeremiah pours out his heart before the LORD. He is accustomed to His presence and speaks confidentially to Him about his distress.

The words of the LORD were food for him (Jeremiah 15:16). As soon as he had found them – meaning that his heart went out to them – and heard them, he ate them up, absorbed them intensely, unlike the people who rejected God’s words (Jeremiah 8:9b). We can also think of the finding of God’s Word in the temple during the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 22:13; 2 Kings 23:2).

Eating the words of God symbolizes identifying with the revealed truth of the Word of God (Ezekiel 3:1-3; Ezekiel 2:8-10; Revelation 10:9). Jeremiah is a prophet to the fullest. His greatest joy is found in the Word of God. That is his food and drink (cf. John 4:34). When he hears God’s words, it makes him whole heartedly happy. He gladly listens to those words (Psalms 19:10; Psalms 119:103; 111), for they come from the mouth of Him Who has proclaimed His Name over him (Jeremiah 14:9). He is the LORD God of hosts, the Almighty, also for Jeremiah.

As a great contrast to the great joy he finds in the Word, he says he has not been in the circle of the merrymakers (Jeremiah 15:17; Psalms 1:1-3). He has not joined in the flat fun of people who mock God’s Word. He has sat alone, not to exult on his own, but because he has felt the hand of the LORD press heavily upon him and His indignation has filled him in his innermost being.

Nor did he in the mind of the Pharisee separate himself in pride. This is evident in the question that torments him why – the fourth ‘why-question’ (Jeremiah 12:1; Jeremiah 14:9; 19) – he must always suffer, why there is no healing (Jeremiah 15:18). Is his cry to Him in vain then? Is He not listening? Is He then after all a deceiver, that although He promises that He is there for him and helps him, He does not do what He says (cf. Job 6:15)?

This ‘why-question’ is actually not a question, but an indictment. Jeremiah accuses the LORD of being like a deceptive stream to him, a stream that promises refreshment but does not give it. These are the ‘why-questions’ of Job. Moses, Joshua and Habakkuk also expressed to the LORD their doubts about His ways, as did the Lord’s disciples (Numbers 11:11; Joshua 7:7; Habakkuk 1:2-3; Mark 4:38).

Jeremiah 48:38

Jeremiah Doubts the LORD

Jeremiah again turns to the LORD (Jeremiah 15:15). It all becomes too much for him. He asks the LORD to remember him and take notice of him. He knows his innocence, doesn’t He? So why does he have to suffer like this? Jeremiah calls upon the LORD to take avenge for him on his persecutors, the people who make his life so difficult. Let the LORD have patience with him, because for His sake he is suffering reproach. Jeremiah pours out his heart before the LORD. He is accustomed to His presence and speaks confidentially to Him about his distress.

The words of the LORD were food for him (Jeremiah 15:16). As soon as he had found them – meaning that his heart went out to them – and heard them, he ate them up, absorbed them intensely, unlike the people who rejected God’s words (Jeremiah 8:9b). We can also think of the finding of God’s Word in the temple during the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 22:13; 2 Kings 23:2).

Eating the words of God symbolizes identifying with the revealed truth of the Word of God (Ezekiel 3:1-3; Ezekiel 2:8-10; Revelation 10:9). Jeremiah is a prophet to the fullest. His greatest joy is found in the Word of God. That is his food and drink (cf. John 4:34). When he hears God’s words, it makes him whole heartedly happy. He gladly listens to those words (Psalms 19:10; Psalms 119:103; 111), for they come from the mouth of Him Who has proclaimed His Name over him (Jeremiah 14:9). He is the LORD God of hosts, the Almighty, also for Jeremiah.

As a great contrast to the great joy he finds in the Word, he says he has not been in the circle of the merrymakers (Jeremiah 15:17; Psalms 1:1-3). He has not joined in the flat fun of people who mock God’s Word. He has sat alone, not to exult on his own, but because he has felt the hand of the LORD press heavily upon him and His indignation has filled him in his innermost being.

Nor did he in the mind of the Pharisee separate himself in pride. This is evident in the question that torments him why – the fourth ‘why-question’ (Jeremiah 12:1; Jeremiah 14:9; 19) – he must always suffer, why there is no healing (Jeremiah 15:18). Is his cry to Him in vain then? Is He not listening? Is He then after all a deceiver, that although He promises that He is there for him and helps him, He does not do what He says (cf. Job 6:15)?

This ‘why-question’ is actually not a question, but an indictment. Jeremiah accuses the LORD of being like a deceptive stream to him, a stream that promises refreshment but does not give it. These are the ‘why-questions’ of Job. Moses, Joshua and Habakkuk also expressed to the LORD their doubts about His ways, as did the Lord’s disciples (Numbers 11:11; Joshua 7:7; Habakkuk 1:2-3; Mark 4:38).

Jeremiah 48:39

Jeremiah Doubts the LORD

Jeremiah again turns to the LORD (Jeremiah 15:15). It all becomes too much for him. He asks the LORD to remember him and take notice of him. He knows his innocence, doesn’t He? So why does he have to suffer like this? Jeremiah calls upon the LORD to take avenge for him on his persecutors, the people who make his life so difficult. Let the LORD have patience with him, because for His sake he is suffering reproach. Jeremiah pours out his heart before the LORD. He is accustomed to His presence and speaks confidentially to Him about his distress.

The words of the LORD were food for him (Jeremiah 15:16). As soon as he had found them – meaning that his heart went out to them – and heard them, he ate them up, absorbed them intensely, unlike the people who rejected God’s words (Jeremiah 8:9b). We can also think of the finding of God’s Word in the temple during the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 22:13; 2 Kings 23:2).

Eating the words of God symbolizes identifying with the revealed truth of the Word of God (Ezekiel 3:1-3; Ezekiel 2:8-10; Revelation 10:9). Jeremiah is a prophet to the fullest. His greatest joy is found in the Word of God. That is his food and drink (cf. John 4:34). When he hears God’s words, it makes him whole heartedly happy. He gladly listens to those words (Psalms 19:10; Psalms 119:103; 111), for they come from the mouth of Him Who has proclaimed His Name over him (Jeremiah 14:9). He is the LORD God of hosts, the Almighty, also for Jeremiah.

As a great contrast to the great joy he finds in the Word, he says he has not been in the circle of the merrymakers (Jeremiah 15:17; Psalms 1:1-3). He has not joined in the flat fun of people who mock God’s Word. He has sat alone, not to exult on his own, but because he has felt the hand of the LORD press heavily upon him and His indignation has filled him in his innermost being.

Nor did he in the mind of the Pharisee separate himself in pride. This is evident in the question that torments him why – the fourth ‘why-question’ (Jeremiah 12:1; Jeremiah 14:9; 19) – he must always suffer, why there is no healing (Jeremiah 15:18). Is his cry to Him in vain then? Is He not listening? Is He then after all a deceiver, that although He promises that He is there for him and helps him, He does not do what He says (cf. Job 6:15)?

This ‘why-question’ is actually not a question, but an indictment. Jeremiah accuses the LORD of being like a deceptive stream to him, a stream that promises refreshment but does not give it. These are the ‘why-questions’ of Job. Moses, Joshua and Habakkuk also expressed to the LORD their doubts about His ways, as did the Lord’s disciples (Numbers 11:11; Joshua 7:7; Habakkuk 1:2-3; Mark 4:38).

Jeremiah 48:40

Rebuke of God and Encouragement

The LORD answers Jeremiah’s complaint that he must return to Him if he has lost his trust in Him to any degree. Jeremiah needs to repent. Here we see the conversion of someone who is already converted. If a believer deviates from the path of trusting in the Lord, he must repent of his error and return to the Lord.

The LORD’s response is again a correction to Jeremiah’s attitude. Jeremiah must return for else the LORD cannot continue with him. If he returns, that is, longs to trust the LORD again, He will let Jeremiah to return to Himself. He says to him He will help him. Then he will stand before Him again.

In God’s presence, Jeremiah can extract the precious from the worthless and have the proper sense of right and wrong. By “the precious” are meant the words spoken by the LORD. By “the worthless” are meant the words he spoke reproachfully to the LORD as a weak man. When he knows again what is precious, he will be able to be the spokesman of the LORD.

The application is that we must always separate the good from the evil, the precious from the worthless. Satan will always try to mix that up. And how has he succeeded in professing Christianity. The believer, through the Spirit of God, can know what is precious, what is in accordance with God’s Word, and engage in that.

As for the people, they must join Jeremiah and also stand before the LORD. Jeremiah must not under any circumstances return to the people, that is, express and behave as they do and what he has just done in his reproach. We should not blame Jeremiah too much. He is a tormented man by all that he sees around him, while also perceiving the total unwillingness of the people to even listen to his message. The people are insensitive and just continue their evil practices. As a result, he has lost his way for a while and therefore he must return to the LORD and start speaking His words again.

Once with the LORD, in His presence and service, there must be no turning back to the unfaithful and no adapting to the wayward desires of a people disobedient to God’s Word. The faithful are to be called to separate themselves from that people and also to come into the presence of the LORD. We also see here that the faithful do not despise the unfaithful people, but feel in their hearts the pain of the position in which the unfaithful people find themselves.

The LORD repeats His promise that He made to Jeremiah at his calling (Jeremiah 15:20; Jeremiah 1:18-19). He encourages him that He will make him an impregnable fortress. Every battle against him will be futile, for the LORD is with him, to deliver and save him. He rescues from the hand of evildoers and redeems from the grasp of the violent (Jeremiah 15:21). All of Jeremiah’s enemies are powerless against the LORD of hosts.

Jeremiah 48:41

Rebuke of God and Encouragement

The LORD answers Jeremiah’s complaint that he must return to Him if he has lost his trust in Him to any degree. Jeremiah needs to repent. Here we see the conversion of someone who is already converted. If a believer deviates from the path of trusting in the Lord, he must repent of his error and return to the Lord.

The LORD’s response is again a correction to Jeremiah’s attitude. Jeremiah must return for else the LORD cannot continue with him. If he returns, that is, longs to trust the LORD again, He will let Jeremiah to return to Himself. He says to him He will help him. Then he will stand before Him again.

In God’s presence, Jeremiah can extract the precious from the worthless and have the proper sense of right and wrong. By “the precious” are meant the words spoken by the LORD. By “the worthless” are meant the words he spoke reproachfully to the LORD as a weak man. When he knows again what is precious, he will be able to be the spokesman of the LORD.

The application is that we must always separate the good from the evil, the precious from the worthless. Satan will always try to mix that up. And how has he succeeded in professing Christianity. The believer, through the Spirit of God, can know what is precious, what is in accordance with God’s Word, and engage in that.

As for the people, they must join Jeremiah and also stand before the LORD. Jeremiah must not under any circumstances return to the people, that is, express and behave as they do and what he has just done in his reproach. We should not blame Jeremiah too much. He is a tormented man by all that he sees around him, while also perceiving the total unwillingness of the people to even listen to his message. The people are insensitive and just continue their evil practices. As a result, he has lost his way for a while and therefore he must return to the LORD and start speaking His words again.

Once with the LORD, in His presence and service, there must be no turning back to the unfaithful and no adapting to the wayward desires of a people disobedient to God’s Word. The faithful are to be called to separate themselves from that people and also to come into the presence of the LORD. We also see here that the faithful do not despise the unfaithful people, but feel in their hearts the pain of the position in which the unfaithful people find themselves.

The LORD repeats His promise that He made to Jeremiah at his calling (Jeremiah 15:20; Jeremiah 1:18-19). He encourages him that He will make him an impregnable fortress. Every battle against him will be futile, for the LORD is with him, to deliver and save him. He rescues from the hand of evildoers and redeems from the grasp of the violent (Jeremiah 15:21). All of Jeremiah’s enemies are powerless against the LORD of hosts.

Jeremiah 48:42

Rebuke of God and Encouragement

The LORD answers Jeremiah’s complaint that he must return to Him if he has lost his trust in Him to any degree. Jeremiah needs to repent. Here we see the conversion of someone who is already converted. If a believer deviates from the path of trusting in the Lord, he must repent of his error and return to the Lord.

The LORD’s response is again a correction to Jeremiah’s attitude. Jeremiah must return for else the LORD cannot continue with him. If he returns, that is, longs to trust the LORD again, He will let Jeremiah to return to Himself. He says to him He will help him. Then he will stand before Him again.

In God’s presence, Jeremiah can extract the precious from the worthless and have the proper sense of right and wrong. By “the precious” are meant the words spoken by the LORD. By “the worthless” are meant the words he spoke reproachfully to the LORD as a weak man. When he knows again what is precious, he will be able to be the spokesman of the LORD.

The application is that we must always separate the good from the evil, the precious from the worthless. Satan will always try to mix that up. And how has he succeeded in professing Christianity. The believer, through the Spirit of God, can know what is precious, what is in accordance with God’s Word, and engage in that.

As for the people, they must join Jeremiah and also stand before the LORD. Jeremiah must not under any circumstances return to the people, that is, express and behave as they do and what he has just done in his reproach. We should not blame Jeremiah too much. He is a tormented man by all that he sees around him, while also perceiving the total unwillingness of the people to even listen to his message. The people are insensitive and just continue their evil practices. As a result, he has lost his way for a while and therefore he must return to the LORD and start speaking His words again.

Once with the LORD, in His presence and service, there must be no turning back to the unfaithful and no adapting to the wayward desires of a people disobedient to God’s Word. The faithful are to be called to separate themselves from that people and also to come into the presence of the LORD. We also see here that the faithful do not despise the unfaithful people, but feel in their hearts the pain of the position in which the unfaithful people find themselves.

The LORD repeats His promise that He made to Jeremiah at his calling (Jeremiah 15:20; Jeremiah 1:18-19). He encourages him that He will make him an impregnable fortress. Every battle against him will be futile, for the LORD is with him, to deliver and save him. He rescues from the hand of evildoers and redeems from the grasp of the violent (Jeremiah 15:21). All of Jeremiah’s enemies are powerless against the LORD of hosts.

Jeremiah 48:44

Introduction

In the section that now demands our attention, we no longer hear the seer’s gentle supplication in favor of Judah. He has pleaded tirelessly when there seemed to be hope of averting the impending disaster. But there is no repentance on the part of the people.

The holiness of God demands that sin in those who are so closely associated with His Name should not be lightly passed over. This section is a serious indictment from His side, showing why His hand must be against them, however much His heart goes out to them even now.

The Solitude of Jeremiah

The word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 16:1). The LORD tells him not to marry, which also means that he will not have sons and daughters (Jeremiah 16:2). By “this place” is meant Jerusalem. Such a command or prohibition is extraordinary. Marriage – and directly related to it, having children – is part of God’s plan for life (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:18; Deuteronomy 7:14). The command not to marry or the desire not to marry is exceptional. It is not comparable to Paul’s advice that it is better not to marry, for that advice he gives “in view of the present distress” in which the people of the world find themselves (1 Corinthians 7:26; cf. Matthew 19:12b).

The personal life of a prophet is in the service of the LORD (cf. Isaiah 8:18; Ezekiel 24:15-27; Hosea 1:2-3). A prophet preaches to the people not only through his words, but also through his personal circumstances. Normally a man marries. The fact that Jeremiah is not allowed to marry carries the message to the people of Jerusalem that judgment will come and therefore it is pointless for him to start a family. It indicates the end of the connection between the people and the LORD. That he will have no children points to the total desolation of the city as the result of the severing of the connection between the LORD and Jerusalem.

What the LORD says to Jeremiah is not a general call to all who are God-fearing not to marry. Nor is it advice to believers in countries where there is a chance that their children will be raised by the state, as was the case with Moses, for example. Nor is it an exhortation not to marry and not to have children in times of war in order to spare oneself or any children the difficulties that these things bring at such a time. Jeremiah’s personal circumstances serve as a sign to the people.

It is a mercy of the LORD that He spares Jeremiah the suffering that would come upon his descendants (cf. Luke 23:29). The sons and daughters who do give birth in Jerusalem will perish, along with the mothers who gave birth to them and the fathers who conceived them (Jeremiah 16:3). The married ones and their children will die of deadly diseases (Jeremiah 16:4).

They will not be mourned. There will be no burial ceremony where mourning can be expressed. For they shall not be buried, but shall be dung upon on the surface of the ground. Others will perish by the sword and still others by hunger. Their bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth. This is quite a dramatic ending to a marriage and the children born of it.

The prophet is also not allowed to attend funerals (Jeremiah 16:5). He may not unite with the mourning of the people because the LORD has taken away from them His “peace …, lovingkindness and compassion”. It is precisely these features of God that are so necessary for life in an end time, in which we too live. We may and should wish these features for one another (cf. 1 Timothy 1:2). If they are taken away, we are irretrievably lost. We see that here. God’s judgment rests on them and Jeremiah must accept that. If the LORD no longer shows compassion, he may not show it either. If he were to unite with their mourning, it would render his message powerless.

The whole land will become one great mourning center (Jeremiah 16:6). “Great men and small”, that is, the people of distinction and the people of low rank, will die, but not be buried. There will be no, permissible, lament over the dead. But neither will there be, unlawful, heathen expressions of grief. Gashing the body and making oneself bald are heathen practices and forbidden to God’s people (Leviticus 19:28; Leviticus 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1). However, these practices are found among God’s people (Jeremiah 41:5; Jeremiah 47:5; Ezekiel 7:18: Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16).

The usual mourning customs will not take place (Jeremiah 16:7). It is customary to take food to the family of the deceased, eat the meal with them and comfort them in their grief. In this case it will not happen because there is no one to comfort. Also, there is no one to give the cup of comfort because of the death of one’s father or mother.

Breaking bread and drinking from the cup to remember a dead person we see also at the institution of the Supper by the Lord Jesus. On that occasion the Lord gives this old custom a new, unique meaning and connects it with new truths (Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 10:16). He connects this custom to the Passover, for then He institutes the Lord’s Supper. Of the Passover we know that it speaks of Him and of the work of redemption He has done (1 Corinthians 5:7b).

Jeremiah is also no longer allowed to attend festive occasions such as weddings (Jeremiah 16:8). That he is no longer allowed to fulfill his social obligations, such as visiting those who mourn or those who celebrate, will have made him all the more an object of contempt. He will feel even more lonely than he already does. What it must have been like for Jeremiah, always being negative, always announcing judgment. He did have an especially hard service.

When asked about his ‘anti-social’ behavior, he must answer that “the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel”, will cause all joy to cease from Jerusalem (Jeremiah 16:9). Jeremiah will be an eyewitness to it, for the LORD will do it before his eyes. When Jerusalem is surrendered into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, there is no longer a voice of joy. All the voices of joy are summed up in “the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride”.

The joy that is present at a wedding is the highest joy that can be found on earth. That joy, which God Himself gave because He Himself instituted marriage, is now being taken away by Himself. Because of the judgment He is executing, there will be no more marriages, because of the lack of people.

Jeremiah 48:45

Introduction

In the section that now demands our attention, we no longer hear the seer’s gentle supplication in favor of Judah. He has pleaded tirelessly when there seemed to be hope of averting the impending disaster. But there is no repentance on the part of the people.

The holiness of God demands that sin in those who are so closely associated with His Name should not be lightly passed over. This section is a serious indictment from His side, showing why His hand must be against them, however much His heart goes out to them even now.

The Solitude of Jeremiah

The word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 16:1). The LORD tells him not to marry, which also means that he will not have sons and daughters (Jeremiah 16:2). By “this place” is meant Jerusalem. Such a command or prohibition is extraordinary. Marriage – and directly related to it, having children – is part of God’s plan for life (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:18; Deuteronomy 7:14). The command not to marry or the desire not to marry is exceptional. It is not comparable to Paul’s advice that it is better not to marry, for that advice he gives “in view of the present distress” in which the people of the world find themselves (1 Corinthians 7:26; cf. Matthew 19:12b).

The personal life of a prophet is in the service of the LORD (cf. Isaiah 8:18; Ezekiel 24:15-27; Hosea 1:2-3). A prophet preaches to the people not only through his words, but also through his personal circumstances. Normally a man marries. The fact that Jeremiah is not allowed to marry carries the message to the people of Jerusalem that judgment will come and therefore it is pointless for him to start a family. It indicates the end of the connection between the people and the LORD. That he will have no children points to the total desolation of the city as the result of the severing of the connection between the LORD and Jerusalem.

What the LORD says to Jeremiah is not a general call to all who are God-fearing not to marry. Nor is it advice to believers in countries where there is a chance that their children will be raised by the state, as was the case with Moses, for example. Nor is it an exhortation not to marry and not to have children in times of war in order to spare oneself or any children the difficulties that these things bring at such a time. Jeremiah’s personal circumstances serve as a sign to the people.

It is a mercy of the LORD that He spares Jeremiah the suffering that would come upon his descendants (cf. Luke 23:29). The sons and daughters who do give birth in Jerusalem will perish, along with the mothers who gave birth to them and the fathers who conceived them (Jeremiah 16:3). The married ones and their children will die of deadly diseases (Jeremiah 16:4).

They will not be mourned. There will be no burial ceremony where mourning can be expressed. For they shall not be buried, but shall be dung upon on the surface of the ground. Others will perish by the sword and still others by hunger. Their bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth. This is quite a dramatic ending to a marriage and the children born of it.

The prophet is also not allowed to attend funerals (Jeremiah 16:5). He may not unite with the mourning of the people because the LORD has taken away from them His “peace …, lovingkindness and compassion”. It is precisely these features of God that are so necessary for life in an end time, in which we too live. We may and should wish these features for one another (cf. 1 Timothy 1:2). If they are taken away, we are irretrievably lost. We see that here. God’s judgment rests on them and Jeremiah must accept that. If the LORD no longer shows compassion, he may not show it either. If he were to unite with their mourning, it would render his message powerless.

The whole land will become one great mourning center (Jeremiah 16:6). “Great men and small”, that is, the people of distinction and the people of low rank, will die, but not be buried. There will be no, permissible, lament over the dead. But neither will there be, unlawful, heathen expressions of grief. Gashing the body and making oneself bald are heathen practices and forbidden to God’s people (Leviticus 19:28; Leviticus 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1). However, these practices are found among God’s people (Jeremiah 41:5; Jeremiah 47:5; Ezekiel 7:18: Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16).

The usual mourning customs will not take place (Jeremiah 16:7). It is customary to take food to the family of the deceased, eat the meal with them and comfort them in their grief. In this case it will not happen because there is no one to comfort. Also, there is no one to give the cup of comfort because of the death of one’s father or mother.

Breaking bread and drinking from the cup to remember a dead person we see also at the institution of the Supper by the Lord Jesus. On that occasion the Lord gives this old custom a new, unique meaning and connects it with new truths (Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 10:16). He connects this custom to the Passover, for then He institutes the Lord’s Supper. Of the Passover we know that it speaks of Him and of the work of redemption He has done (1 Corinthians 5:7b).

Jeremiah is also no longer allowed to attend festive occasions such as weddings (Jeremiah 16:8). That he is no longer allowed to fulfill his social obligations, such as visiting those who mourn or those who celebrate, will have made him all the more an object of contempt. He will feel even more lonely than he already does. What it must have been like for Jeremiah, always being negative, always announcing judgment. He did have an especially hard service.

When asked about his ‘anti-social’ behavior, he must answer that “the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel”, will cause all joy to cease from Jerusalem (Jeremiah 16:9). Jeremiah will be an eyewitness to it, for the LORD will do it before his eyes. When Jerusalem is surrendered into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, there is no longer a voice of joy. All the voices of joy are summed up in “the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride”.

The joy that is present at a wedding is the highest joy that can be found on earth. That joy, which God Himself gave because He Himself instituted marriage, is now being taken away by Himself. Because of the judgment He is executing, there will be no more marriages, because of the lack of people.

Jeremiah 48:46

Introduction

In the section that now demands our attention, we no longer hear the seer’s gentle supplication in favor of Judah. He has pleaded tirelessly when there seemed to be hope of averting the impending disaster. But there is no repentance on the part of the people.

The holiness of God demands that sin in those who are so closely associated with His Name should not be lightly passed over. This section is a serious indictment from His side, showing why His hand must be against them, however much His heart goes out to them even now.

The Solitude of Jeremiah

The word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 16:1). The LORD tells him not to marry, which also means that he will not have sons and daughters (Jeremiah 16:2). By “this place” is meant Jerusalem. Such a command or prohibition is extraordinary. Marriage – and directly related to it, having children – is part of God’s plan for life (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:18; Deuteronomy 7:14). The command not to marry or the desire not to marry is exceptional. It is not comparable to Paul’s advice that it is better not to marry, for that advice he gives “in view of the present distress” in which the people of the world find themselves (1 Corinthians 7:26; cf. Matthew 19:12b).

The personal life of a prophet is in the service of the LORD (cf. Isaiah 8:18; Ezekiel 24:15-27; Hosea 1:2-3). A prophet preaches to the people not only through his words, but also through his personal circumstances. Normally a man marries. The fact that Jeremiah is not allowed to marry carries the message to the people of Jerusalem that judgment will come and therefore it is pointless for him to start a family. It indicates the end of the connection between the people and the LORD. That he will have no children points to the total desolation of the city as the result of the severing of the connection between the LORD and Jerusalem.

What the LORD says to Jeremiah is not a general call to all who are God-fearing not to marry. Nor is it advice to believers in countries where there is a chance that their children will be raised by the state, as was the case with Moses, for example. Nor is it an exhortation not to marry and not to have children in times of war in order to spare oneself or any children the difficulties that these things bring at such a time. Jeremiah’s personal circumstances serve as a sign to the people.

It is a mercy of the LORD that He spares Jeremiah the suffering that would come upon his descendants (cf. Luke 23:29). The sons and daughters who do give birth in Jerusalem will perish, along with the mothers who gave birth to them and the fathers who conceived them (Jeremiah 16:3). The married ones and their children will die of deadly diseases (Jeremiah 16:4).

They will not be mourned. There will be no burial ceremony where mourning can be expressed. For they shall not be buried, but shall be dung upon on the surface of the ground. Others will perish by the sword and still others by hunger. Their bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth. This is quite a dramatic ending to a marriage and the children born of it.

The prophet is also not allowed to attend funerals (Jeremiah 16:5). He may not unite with the mourning of the people because the LORD has taken away from them His “peace …, lovingkindness and compassion”. It is precisely these features of God that are so necessary for life in an end time, in which we too live. We may and should wish these features for one another (cf. 1 Timothy 1:2). If they are taken away, we are irretrievably lost. We see that here. God’s judgment rests on them and Jeremiah must accept that. If the LORD no longer shows compassion, he may not show it either. If he were to unite with their mourning, it would render his message powerless.

The whole land will become one great mourning center (Jeremiah 16:6). “Great men and small”, that is, the people of distinction and the people of low rank, will die, but not be buried. There will be no, permissible, lament over the dead. But neither will there be, unlawful, heathen expressions of grief. Gashing the body and making oneself bald are heathen practices and forbidden to God’s people (Leviticus 19:28; Leviticus 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1). However, these practices are found among God’s people (Jeremiah 41:5; Jeremiah 47:5; Ezekiel 7:18: Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16).

The usual mourning customs will not take place (Jeremiah 16:7). It is customary to take food to the family of the deceased, eat the meal with them and comfort them in their grief. In this case it will not happen because there is no one to comfort. Also, there is no one to give the cup of comfort because of the death of one’s father or mother.

Breaking bread and drinking from the cup to remember a dead person we see also at the institution of the Supper by the Lord Jesus. On that occasion the Lord gives this old custom a new, unique meaning and connects it with new truths (Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 10:16). He connects this custom to the Passover, for then He institutes the Lord’s Supper. Of the Passover we know that it speaks of Him and of the work of redemption He has done (1 Corinthians 5:7b).

Jeremiah is also no longer allowed to attend festive occasions such as weddings (Jeremiah 16:8). That he is no longer allowed to fulfill his social obligations, such as visiting those who mourn or those who celebrate, will have made him all the more an object of contempt. He will feel even more lonely than he already does. What it must have been like for Jeremiah, always being negative, always announcing judgment. He did have an especially hard service.

When asked about his ‘anti-social’ behavior, he must answer that “the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel”, will cause all joy to cease from Jerusalem (Jeremiah 16:9). Jeremiah will be an eyewitness to it, for the LORD will do it before his eyes. When Jerusalem is surrendered into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, there is no longer a voice of joy. All the voices of joy are summed up in “the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride”.

The joy that is present at a wedding is the highest joy that can be found on earth. That joy, which God Himself gave because He Himself instituted marriage, is now being taken away by Himself. Because of the judgment He is executing, there will be no more marriages, because of the lack of people.

Jeremiah 48:47

Introduction

In the section that now demands our attention, we no longer hear the seer’s gentle supplication in favor of Judah. He has pleaded tirelessly when there seemed to be hope of averting the impending disaster. But there is no repentance on the part of the people.

The holiness of God demands that sin in those who are so closely associated with His Name should not be lightly passed over. This section is a serious indictment from His side, showing why His hand must be against them, however much His heart goes out to them even now.

The Solitude of Jeremiah

The word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 16:1). The LORD tells him not to marry, which also means that he will not have sons and daughters (Jeremiah 16:2). By “this place” is meant Jerusalem. Such a command or prohibition is extraordinary. Marriage – and directly related to it, having children – is part of God’s plan for life (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:18; Deuteronomy 7:14). The command not to marry or the desire not to marry is exceptional. It is not comparable to Paul’s advice that it is better not to marry, for that advice he gives “in view of the present distress” in which the people of the world find themselves (1 Corinthians 7:26; cf. Matthew 19:12b).

The personal life of a prophet is in the service of the LORD (cf. Isaiah 8:18; Ezekiel 24:15-27; Hosea 1:2-3). A prophet preaches to the people not only through his words, but also through his personal circumstances. Normally a man marries. The fact that Jeremiah is not allowed to marry carries the message to the people of Jerusalem that judgment will come and therefore it is pointless for him to start a family. It indicates the end of the connection between the people and the LORD. That he will have no children points to the total desolation of the city as the result of the severing of the connection between the LORD and Jerusalem.

What the LORD says to Jeremiah is not a general call to all who are God-fearing not to marry. Nor is it advice to believers in countries where there is a chance that their children will be raised by the state, as was the case with Moses, for example. Nor is it an exhortation not to marry and not to have children in times of war in order to spare oneself or any children the difficulties that these things bring at such a time. Jeremiah’s personal circumstances serve as a sign to the people.

It is a mercy of the LORD that He spares Jeremiah the suffering that would come upon his descendants (cf. Luke 23:29). The sons and daughters who do give birth in Jerusalem will perish, along with the mothers who gave birth to them and the fathers who conceived them (Jeremiah 16:3). The married ones and their children will die of deadly diseases (Jeremiah 16:4).

They will not be mourned. There will be no burial ceremony where mourning can be expressed. For they shall not be buried, but shall be dung upon on the surface of the ground. Others will perish by the sword and still others by hunger. Their bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth. This is quite a dramatic ending to a marriage and the children born of it.

The prophet is also not allowed to attend funerals (Jeremiah 16:5). He may not unite with the mourning of the people because the LORD has taken away from them His “peace …, lovingkindness and compassion”. It is precisely these features of God that are so necessary for life in an end time, in which we too live. We may and should wish these features for one another (cf. 1 Timothy 1:2). If they are taken away, we are irretrievably lost. We see that here. God’s judgment rests on them and Jeremiah must accept that. If the LORD no longer shows compassion, he may not show it either. If he were to unite with their mourning, it would render his message powerless.

The whole land will become one great mourning center (Jeremiah 16:6). “Great men and small”, that is, the people of distinction and the people of low rank, will die, but not be buried. There will be no, permissible, lament over the dead. But neither will there be, unlawful, heathen expressions of grief. Gashing the body and making oneself bald are heathen practices and forbidden to God’s people (Leviticus 19:28; Leviticus 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1). However, these practices are found among God’s people (Jeremiah 41:5; Jeremiah 47:5; Ezekiel 7:18: Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16).

The usual mourning customs will not take place (Jeremiah 16:7). It is customary to take food to the family of the deceased, eat the meal with them and comfort them in their grief. In this case it will not happen because there is no one to comfort. Also, there is no one to give the cup of comfort because of the death of one’s father or mother.

Breaking bread and drinking from the cup to remember a dead person we see also at the institution of the Supper by the Lord Jesus. On that occasion the Lord gives this old custom a new, unique meaning and connects it with new truths (Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 10:16). He connects this custom to the Passover, for then He institutes the Lord’s Supper. Of the Passover we know that it speaks of Him and of the work of redemption He has done (1 Corinthians 5:7b).

Jeremiah is also no longer allowed to attend festive occasions such as weddings (Jeremiah 16:8). That he is no longer allowed to fulfill his social obligations, such as visiting those who mourn or those who celebrate, will have made him all the more an object of contempt. He will feel even more lonely than he already does. What it must have been like for Jeremiah, always being negative, always announcing judgment. He did have an especially hard service.

When asked about his ‘anti-social’ behavior, he must answer that “the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel”, will cause all joy to cease from Jerusalem (Jeremiah 16:9). Jeremiah will be an eyewitness to it, for the LORD will do it before his eyes. When Jerusalem is surrendered into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, there is no longer a voice of joy. All the voices of joy are summed up in “the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride”.

The joy that is present at a wedding is the highest joy that can be found on earth. That joy, which God Himself gave because He Himself instituted marriage, is now being taken away by Himself. Because of the judgment He is executing, there will be no more marriages, because of the lack of people.