Jeremiah 49
KingCommentsJeremiah 49:1
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 49:2
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 49:3
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 49:4
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 49:5
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 49:6
The Cause of Judgment
That the people are hardened is evident in their reaction, which the LORD knows in advance (Jeremiah 16:10). Amazed, as if they are not aware of any wrongdoing, they ask why the LORD is acting in this way with them. In doing so, in veiled terms, they blame Him for all the calamity that befalls them. What have they done wrong, what is their iniquity and sin with which they would have sinned against Him? Let Him tell them then. It is the haughty language of a people who imagine they are serving God, while they are fulfilling it in their own self-willed way (cf. Malachi 1:6-7; Malachi 2:17; Malachi 3:7-8; 13).
They are so hardened by sin that they do not appear to have any sense that God’s wrath is on them because of their sins and deviation from Him. Sin is no longer felt. God’s will is not asked for. In His incomprehensible patience with this apostate people, the LORD tells Jeremiah what to answer (Jeremiah 16:11). First He points out to the people what their fathers did, how they have forsaken Him and went after other gods and served and worshiped them. His law they have not observed. They have become disobedient.
But they, their children, have not done better (Jeremiah 16:12). On the contrary, they have done even more evil than their forefathers. They are not only going after idols, but are walking according to the stubbornness of their own hardened, evil heart. They show this clearly by not listening to Him. They have not only done the same sins, but committed them with greater eagerness, while having far more cautionary examples than they. Their stubbornness and rebellion is greater than that of their fathers.
“So”, for this reason, the LORD will hurl them out of this land, in which they now dwell, into another land which they have not known, nor have their fathers known (Jeremiah 16:13). The word “hurl” indicates both the power and the contempt with which the LORD performs this act. In that foreign land they will be completely at the mercy of other gods whom they will serve “day and night”, that is, incessantly.
What they have done voluntarily in their own land, they will have to do in the land of their exile compulsorily and ceaselessly by serving the idolaters as slaves. The first, the voluntary serving of idols, is their sin; the second, the forced serving of other gods, is their punishment. They suffer this punishment “for” the LORD withholds His favor from them. The favor that serves to support persons in need will not be granted to them. From those whom they are to serve, no favor will come, nor will it come from the LORD. This will make their punishment even more severe.
Jeremiah 49:7
The Cause of Judgment
That the people are hardened is evident in their reaction, which the LORD knows in advance (Jeremiah 16:10). Amazed, as if they are not aware of any wrongdoing, they ask why the LORD is acting in this way with them. In doing so, in veiled terms, they blame Him for all the calamity that befalls them. What have they done wrong, what is their iniquity and sin with which they would have sinned against Him? Let Him tell them then. It is the haughty language of a people who imagine they are serving God, while they are fulfilling it in their own self-willed way (cf. Malachi 1:6-7; Malachi 2:17; Malachi 3:7-8; 13).
They are so hardened by sin that they do not appear to have any sense that God’s wrath is on them because of their sins and deviation from Him. Sin is no longer felt. God’s will is not asked for. In His incomprehensible patience with this apostate people, the LORD tells Jeremiah what to answer (Jeremiah 16:11). First He points out to the people what their fathers did, how they have forsaken Him and went after other gods and served and worshiped them. His law they have not observed. They have become disobedient.
But they, their children, have not done better (Jeremiah 16:12). On the contrary, they have done even more evil than their forefathers. They are not only going after idols, but are walking according to the stubbornness of their own hardened, evil heart. They show this clearly by not listening to Him. They have not only done the same sins, but committed them with greater eagerness, while having far more cautionary examples than they. Their stubbornness and rebellion is greater than that of their fathers.
“So”, for this reason, the LORD will hurl them out of this land, in which they now dwell, into another land which they have not known, nor have their fathers known (Jeremiah 16:13). The word “hurl” indicates both the power and the contempt with which the LORD performs this act. In that foreign land they will be completely at the mercy of other gods whom they will serve “day and night”, that is, incessantly.
What they have done voluntarily in their own land, they will have to do in the land of their exile compulsorily and ceaselessly by serving the idolaters as slaves. The first, the voluntary serving of idols, is their sin; the second, the forced serving of other gods, is their punishment. They suffer this punishment “for” the LORD withholds His favor from them. The favor that serves to support persons in need will not be granted to them. From those whom they are to serve, no favor will come, nor will it come from the LORD. This will make their punishment even more severe.
Jeremiah 49:8
The Cause of Judgment
That the people are hardened is evident in their reaction, which the LORD knows in advance (Jeremiah 16:10). Amazed, as if they are not aware of any wrongdoing, they ask why the LORD is acting in this way with them. In doing so, in veiled terms, they blame Him for all the calamity that befalls them. What have they done wrong, what is their iniquity and sin with which they would have sinned against Him? Let Him tell them then. It is the haughty language of a people who imagine they are serving God, while they are fulfilling it in their own self-willed way (cf. Malachi 1:6-7; Malachi 2:17; Malachi 3:7-8; 13).
They are so hardened by sin that they do not appear to have any sense that God’s wrath is on them because of their sins and deviation from Him. Sin is no longer felt. God’s will is not asked for. In His incomprehensible patience with this apostate people, the LORD tells Jeremiah what to answer (Jeremiah 16:11). First He points out to the people what their fathers did, how they have forsaken Him and went after other gods and served and worshiped them. His law they have not observed. They have become disobedient.
But they, their children, have not done better (Jeremiah 16:12). On the contrary, they have done even more evil than their forefathers. They are not only going after idols, but are walking according to the stubbornness of their own hardened, evil heart. They show this clearly by not listening to Him. They have not only done the same sins, but committed them with greater eagerness, while having far more cautionary examples than they. Their stubbornness and rebellion is greater than that of their fathers.
“So”, for this reason, the LORD will hurl them out of this land, in which they now dwell, into another land which they have not known, nor have their fathers known (Jeremiah 16:13). The word “hurl” indicates both the power and the contempt with which the LORD performs this act. In that foreign land they will be completely at the mercy of other gods whom they will serve “day and night”, that is, incessantly.
What they have done voluntarily in their own land, they will have to do in the land of their exile compulsorily and ceaselessly by serving the idolaters as slaves. The first, the voluntary serving of idols, is their sin; the second, the forced serving of other gods, is their punishment. They suffer this punishment “for” the LORD withholds His favor from them. The favor that serves to support persons in need will not be granted to them. From those whom they are to serve, no favor will come, nor will it come from the LORD. This will make their punishment even more severe.
Jeremiah 49:9
The Cause of Judgment
That the people are hardened is evident in their reaction, which the LORD knows in advance (Jeremiah 16:10). Amazed, as if they are not aware of any wrongdoing, they ask why the LORD is acting in this way with them. In doing so, in veiled terms, they blame Him for all the calamity that befalls them. What have they done wrong, what is their iniquity and sin with which they would have sinned against Him? Let Him tell them then. It is the haughty language of a people who imagine they are serving God, while they are fulfilling it in their own self-willed way (cf. Malachi 1:6-7; Malachi 2:17; Malachi 3:7-8; 13).
They are so hardened by sin that they do not appear to have any sense that God’s wrath is on them because of their sins and deviation from Him. Sin is no longer felt. God’s will is not asked for. In His incomprehensible patience with this apostate people, the LORD tells Jeremiah what to answer (Jeremiah 16:11). First He points out to the people what their fathers did, how they have forsaken Him and went after other gods and served and worshiped them. His law they have not observed. They have become disobedient.
But they, their children, have not done better (Jeremiah 16:12). On the contrary, they have done even more evil than their forefathers. They are not only going after idols, but are walking according to the stubbornness of their own hardened, evil heart. They show this clearly by not listening to Him. They have not only done the same sins, but committed them with greater eagerness, while having far more cautionary examples than they. Their stubbornness and rebellion is greater than that of their fathers.
“So”, for this reason, the LORD will hurl them out of this land, in which they now dwell, into another land which they have not known, nor have their fathers known (Jeremiah 16:13). The word “hurl” indicates both the power and the contempt with which the LORD performs this act. In that foreign land they will be completely at the mercy of other gods whom they will serve “day and night”, that is, incessantly.
What they have done voluntarily in their own land, they will have to do in the land of their exile compulsorily and ceaselessly by serving the idolaters as slaves. The first, the voluntary serving of idols, is their sin; the second, the forced serving of other gods, is their punishment. They suffer this punishment “for” the LORD withholds His favor from them. The favor that serves to support persons in need will not be granted to them. From those whom they are to serve, no favor will come, nor will it come from the LORD. This will make their punishment even more severe.
Jeremiah 49:10
Restored to the Land
When we read these two verses, we can hardly believe that what is written here is true. After the most terrible announcements of judgment, in which the people in no way show any awareness of their condition, as if out of nowhere comes this announcement of salvation. What a comfort to the tormented and afflicted prophet!
The LORD briefly interrupts His announcement of judgment to make it clear that His judgments do not mean that Israel is no longer His covenant people (Jeremiah 16:14). He points to days to come, by which He means the end time, when He returns and establishes His realm of peace. Then they will no longer look back to their exodus from Egypt as the great evidence of His preservation and deliverance. For there will be a new exodus, and it will be from the north, Babylon, and all the other lands to which He has banished His people (Jeremiah 16:15). So here we suddenly have another word of encouragement, what the LORD will do in the future for the benefit of His people.
The LORD here promises that He will bring His people back to the promised land after His discipline over them has accomplished His intended purpose. The return from the Babylonian exile is only a partial fulfillment of this promise. It involves a return of His people from all over the world. What we see today in the return of many Jews to Israel is not yet a full fulfillment of this promise. Full fulfillment requires repentance and confession of sins and these are not yet present.
Jeremiah 49:11
Restored to the Land
When we read these two verses, we can hardly believe that what is written here is true. After the most terrible announcements of judgment, in which the people in no way show any awareness of their condition, as if out of nowhere comes this announcement of salvation. What a comfort to the tormented and afflicted prophet!
The LORD briefly interrupts His announcement of judgment to make it clear that His judgments do not mean that Israel is no longer His covenant people (Jeremiah 16:14). He points to days to come, by which He means the end time, when He returns and establishes His realm of peace. Then they will no longer look back to their exodus from Egypt as the great evidence of His preservation and deliverance. For there will be a new exodus, and it will be from the north, Babylon, and all the other lands to which He has banished His people (Jeremiah 16:15). So here we suddenly have another word of encouragement, what the LORD will do in the future for the benefit of His people.
The LORD here promises that He will bring His people back to the promised land after His discipline over them has accomplished His intended purpose. The return from the Babylonian exile is only a partial fulfillment of this promise. It involves a return of His people from all over the world. What we see today in the return of many Jews to Israel is not yet a full fulfillment of this promise. Full fulfillment requires repentance and confession of sins and these are not yet present.
Jeremiah 49:12
Full Repay
After assuring the return to the land in the previous two verses, the LORD goes on to describe His impending judgments. He compares the Babylonians to fishermen and hunters (Jeremiah 16:16). They will catch the Jews in their nets and carry them away (cf. Ezekiel 12:13a). All who have escaped from the nets they will hunt from the places where they hid, for it is impossible to hide from the LORD (Amos 9:1-4).
No one will escape judgment, for the LORD sees them everywhere, and He also sees all their ways (Jeremiah 16:17). He is omniscient and omnipresent. Who they are, where they are and what they do, everything is an open book to Him. They cannot hide themselves, but neither can they hide or cover their sinful deeds from Him.
The LORD will punish them doubly for polluting what He expressly calls “My inheritance”, which is His land (Jeremiah 16:18; cf. Isaiah 40:2b). The double repayment, by which is also meant complete punishment, is for a double sin. They have polluted His property in a horrible way in a double sense. They have done so by filling His land, His property, with the dead bodies of their abominable idols – idols are dead things – and their abominations. The language used makes one feel the horror that the LORD has over their actions. He finds this abhorrent and totally reprehensible.
Jeremiah 49:13
Full Repay
After assuring the return to the land in the previous two verses, the LORD goes on to describe His impending judgments. He compares the Babylonians to fishermen and hunters (Jeremiah 16:16). They will catch the Jews in their nets and carry them away (cf. Ezekiel 12:13a). All who have escaped from the nets they will hunt from the places where they hid, for it is impossible to hide from the LORD (Amos 9:1-4).
No one will escape judgment, for the LORD sees them everywhere, and He also sees all their ways (Jeremiah 16:17). He is omniscient and omnipresent. Who they are, where they are and what they do, everything is an open book to Him. They cannot hide themselves, but neither can they hide or cover their sinful deeds from Him.
The LORD will punish them doubly for polluting what He expressly calls “My inheritance”, which is His land (Jeremiah 16:18; cf. Isaiah 40:2b). The double repayment, by which is also meant complete punishment, is for a double sin. They have polluted His property in a horrible way in a double sense. They have done so by filling His land, His property, with the dead bodies of their abominable idols – idols are dead things – and their abominations. The language used makes one feel the horror that the LORD has over their actions. He finds this abhorrent and totally reprehensible.
Jeremiah 49:14
Full Repay
After assuring the return to the land in the previous two verses, the LORD goes on to describe His impending judgments. He compares the Babylonians to fishermen and hunters (Jeremiah 16:16). They will catch the Jews in their nets and carry them away (cf. Ezekiel 12:13a). All who have escaped from the nets they will hunt from the places where they hid, for it is impossible to hide from the LORD (Amos 9:1-4).
No one will escape judgment, for the LORD sees them everywhere, and He also sees all their ways (Jeremiah 16:17). He is omniscient and omnipresent. Who they are, where they are and what they do, everything is an open book to Him. They cannot hide themselves, but neither can they hide or cover their sinful deeds from Him.
The LORD will punish them doubly for polluting what He expressly calls “My inheritance”, which is His land (Jeremiah 16:18; cf. Isaiah 40:2b). The double repayment, by which is also meant complete punishment, is for a double sin. They have polluted His property in a horrible way in a double sense. They have done so by filling His land, His property, with the dead bodies of their abominable idols – idols are dead things – and their abominations. The language used makes one feel the horror that the LORD has over their actions. He finds this abhorrent and totally reprehensible.
Jeremiah 49:15
The Nations Blessed
In that situation, the LORD is very personally for Jeremiah “my strength and my fortress, and my refuge” (Jeremiah 16:19). Each of these three words points to the protection that the LORD is to him. He needs that protection because it is a “day of distress” for him and for every God-fearing person.
However, Jeremiah also looks beyond the time of distress in which he lives. He tells the LORD that the nations will come to Him from the ends of the earth. They will come with a confession about the futility of idols. That will happen when Christ rules and they come to Him, Who is the LORD.
Those who yield to idols receive falsehood as an inherited possession, a possession that is not a permanent one. Everything that idols give – that is, the demons behind the idols, for idols themselves are dead things – is deception and disappointment. The conclusion, then, is to ask whether a man would make himself gods, with the immediate answer that those are not gods (Jeremiah 16:20).
When the nations, as well as God’s people, acknowledge His hand and His power, they will know Who He is (Jeremiah 16:21). The outcome of the pressure of God’s hand and the exercise of His power is that they will acknowledge that He has dealt with them, He, Whose Name is LORD. It may be that by “them” whom He causes to acknowledge His hand and His power, the Jews are meant; it may also be that by them the nations are meant. In any case, it applies to both groups (Ezekiel 36:23).
Jeremiah 49:16
The Nations Blessed
In that situation, the LORD is very personally for Jeremiah “my strength and my fortress, and my refuge” (Jeremiah 16:19). Each of these three words points to the protection that the LORD is to him. He needs that protection because it is a “day of distress” for him and for every God-fearing person.
However, Jeremiah also looks beyond the time of distress in which he lives. He tells the LORD that the nations will come to Him from the ends of the earth. They will come with a confession about the futility of idols. That will happen when Christ rules and they come to Him, Who is the LORD.
Those who yield to idols receive falsehood as an inherited possession, a possession that is not a permanent one. Everything that idols give – that is, the demons behind the idols, for idols themselves are dead things – is deception and disappointment. The conclusion, then, is to ask whether a man would make himself gods, with the immediate answer that those are not gods (Jeremiah 16:20).
When the nations, as well as God’s people, acknowledge His hand and His power, they will know Who He is (Jeremiah 16:21). The outcome of the pressure of God’s hand and the exercise of His power is that they will acknowledge that He has dealt with them, He, Whose Name is LORD. It may be that by “them” whom He causes to acknowledge His hand and His power, the Jews are meant; it may also be that by them the nations are meant. In any case, it applies to both groups (Ezekiel 36:23).
Jeremiah 49:17
The Nations Blessed
In that situation, the LORD is very personally for Jeremiah “my strength and my fortress, and my refuge” (Jeremiah 16:19). Each of these three words points to the protection that the LORD is to him. He needs that protection because it is a “day of distress” for him and for every God-fearing person.
However, Jeremiah also looks beyond the time of distress in which he lives. He tells the LORD that the nations will come to Him from the ends of the earth. They will come with a confession about the futility of idols. That will happen when Christ rules and they come to Him, Who is the LORD.
Those who yield to idols receive falsehood as an inherited possession, a possession that is not a permanent one. Everything that idols give – that is, the demons behind the idols, for idols themselves are dead things – is deception and disappointment. The conclusion, then, is to ask whether a man would make himself gods, with the immediate answer that those are not gods (Jeremiah 16:20).
When the nations, as well as God’s people, acknowledge His hand and His power, they will know Who He is (Jeremiah 16:21). The outcome of the pressure of God’s hand and the exercise of His power is that they will acknowledge that He has dealt with them, He, Whose Name is LORD. It may be that by “them” whom He causes to acknowledge His hand and His power, the Jews are meant; it may also be that by them the nations are meant. In any case, it applies to both groups (Ezekiel 36:23).
Jeremiah 49:19
Israel’s Indelible Sin
Jeremiah uses strong language to put before the people their iniquity (Jeremiah 17:1). “The sin of Judah” is in the singular. It is the sin of idolatry. All those idols and all the tributes to them are summed up in this singular designation. That “the sin of Judah” is engraved in their hearts means that they love sin and that it is completely integrated into their lives, is completely intertwined with it. Sin is more than a wrong action, it is the condition of the heart.
What is engraved is written indelibly (Job 19:24), in this case as an everlasting indictment, a monument of sin. It is engraved like the inscription on a tombstone. It was done with an iron stylus, with a diamond point. With a diamond point, the hardest stone can be worked. Their sin is engraved in their hearts, where the law should be written (Jeremiah 31:33; cf. Hebrews 8:10; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 7:3).
Their sin is also written on the horns of their altars. These are their idol altars. A horn speaks of strength and here means that they are powerful in committing sin. These altars have nothing to do with the altar of burnt offering in the temple, on which the blood of atonement is put (Leviticus 4:7; 18). The LORD does not see the blood that speaks of the sacrifice of His beloved Son, but He sees the sin of guilty Israel engraved on their hearts and on the horns of their idol altars. God’s judgment on their sin is therefore as inevitable and inescapable as their sin is indelible.
The people of Judah think of their idols as often and with as much love as they do of their children (Jeremiah 17:2). Children and altars are the objects of their love and they link them together. They train their children to commit idolatry and bring them “by green trees on the high hills” which are mentioned here as the usual places of idolatry (Ezekiel 6:13).
Many Christian parents are intent on telling their children a lot about great names in the world, sports heroes or thinkers honored in the world, while teaching them nothing about great names in Scripture. They bask in the knowledge of those impressive names like sitting in the shade of a leafy tree. They also revere those names by praising them, which is like taking a seat on a high hill.
“Mountain of Mine in the countryside” (Jeremiah 17:3) represents Zion or Jerusalem or the temple (Micah 3:12). It is a picture of Israel in the world as the people who have strayed from God. Therefore, He will abandon His people and carry them away into exile where they will serve their enemies. The idolaters think that Jerusalem or the temple is theirs, but the LORD never gives up His ownership. It is because it is His property and they have misused it that He gives it for booty to the enemy whom He sends against them. He will also give over for booty all their wealth and treasures, for which they worship their idols as if they had received it from them.
The people will be forced to let go of the land, which had been given to them as an inheritance, but which they have so defiled with their idolatry (Jeremiah 17:4). This speaks of the rest of the sabbath years that the people have not given the land, against the LORD’s command (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:4-5). This will happen when the LORD brings enemies upon them who will subdue them, remove them from their land, and whom they will have to serve.
The land they do not know is Babylon. That they will be there, they have themselves to blame. They have taunted the LORD to the extreme with their idolatry. Now His anger has been kindled in all its intensity, with no way to extinguish it. His anger has been kindled by them because they persist in sin. His anger will burn for all eternity, like the fire in hell. God’s anger against sin is always for eternity. His anger only comes to an end when sin is confessed and hands are laid in faith on the atoning work of Christ.
Jeremiah 49:20
Israel’s Indelible Sin
Jeremiah uses strong language to put before the people their iniquity (Jeremiah 17:1). “The sin of Judah” is in the singular. It is the sin of idolatry. All those idols and all the tributes to them are summed up in this singular designation. That “the sin of Judah” is engraved in their hearts means that they love sin and that it is completely integrated into their lives, is completely intertwined with it. Sin is more than a wrong action, it is the condition of the heart.
What is engraved is written indelibly (Job 19:24), in this case as an everlasting indictment, a monument of sin. It is engraved like the inscription on a tombstone. It was done with an iron stylus, with a diamond point. With a diamond point, the hardest stone can be worked. Their sin is engraved in their hearts, where the law should be written (Jeremiah 31:33; cf. Hebrews 8:10; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 7:3).
Their sin is also written on the horns of their altars. These are their idol altars. A horn speaks of strength and here means that they are powerful in committing sin. These altars have nothing to do with the altar of burnt offering in the temple, on which the blood of atonement is put (Leviticus 4:7; 18). The LORD does not see the blood that speaks of the sacrifice of His beloved Son, but He sees the sin of guilty Israel engraved on their hearts and on the horns of their idol altars. God’s judgment on their sin is therefore as inevitable and inescapable as their sin is indelible.
The people of Judah think of their idols as often and with as much love as they do of their children (Jeremiah 17:2). Children and altars are the objects of their love and they link them together. They train their children to commit idolatry and bring them “by green trees on the high hills” which are mentioned here as the usual places of idolatry (Ezekiel 6:13).
Many Christian parents are intent on telling their children a lot about great names in the world, sports heroes or thinkers honored in the world, while teaching them nothing about great names in Scripture. They bask in the knowledge of those impressive names like sitting in the shade of a leafy tree. They also revere those names by praising them, which is like taking a seat on a high hill.
“Mountain of Mine in the countryside” (Jeremiah 17:3) represents Zion or Jerusalem or the temple (Micah 3:12). It is a picture of Israel in the world as the people who have strayed from God. Therefore, He will abandon His people and carry them away into exile where they will serve their enemies. The idolaters think that Jerusalem or the temple is theirs, but the LORD never gives up His ownership. It is because it is His property and they have misused it that He gives it for booty to the enemy whom He sends against them. He will also give over for booty all their wealth and treasures, for which they worship their idols as if they had received it from them.
The people will be forced to let go of the land, which had been given to them as an inheritance, but which they have so defiled with their idolatry (Jeremiah 17:4). This speaks of the rest of the sabbath years that the people have not given the land, against the LORD’s command (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:4-5). This will happen when the LORD brings enemies upon them who will subdue them, remove them from their land, and whom they will have to serve.
The land they do not know is Babylon. That they will be there, they have themselves to blame. They have taunted the LORD to the extreme with their idolatry. Now His anger has been kindled in all its intensity, with no way to extinguish it. His anger has been kindled by them because they persist in sin. His anger will burn for all eternity, like the fire in hell. God’s anger against sin is always for eternity. His anger only comes to an end when sin is confessed and hands are laid in faith on the atoning work of Christ.
Jeremiah 49:21
Israel’s Indelible Sin
Jeremiah uses strong language to put before the people their iniquity (Jeremiah 17:1). “The sin of Judah” is in the singular. It is the sin of idolatry. All those idols and all the tributes to them are summed up in this singular designation. That “the sin of Judah” is engraved in their hearts means that they love sin and that it is completely integrated into their lives, is completely intertwined with it. Sin is more than a wrong action, it is the condition of the heart.
What is engraved is written indelibly (Job 19:24), in this case as an everlasting indictment, a monument of sin. It is engraved like the inscription on a tombstone. It was done with an iron stylus, with a diamond point. With a diamond point, the hardest stone can be worked. Their sin is engraved in their hearts, where the law should be written (Jeremiah 31:33; cf. Hebrews 8:10; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 7:3).
Their sin is also written on the horns of their altars. These are their idol altars. A horn speaks of strength and here means that they are powerful in committing sin. These altars have nothing to do with the altar of burnt offering in the temple, on which the blood of atonement is put (Leviticus 4:7; 18). The LORD does not see the blood that speaks of the sacrifice of His beloved Son, but He sees the sin of guilty Israel engraved on their hearts and on the horns of their idol altars. God’s judgment on their sin is therefore as inevitable and inescapable as their sin is indelible.
The people of Judah think of their idols as often and with as much love as they do of their children (Jeremiah 17:2). Children and altars are the objects of their love and they link them together. They train their children to commit idolatry and bring them “by green trees on the high hills” which are mentioned here as the usual places of idolatry (Ezekiel 6:13).
Many Christian parents are intent on telling their children a lot about great names in the world, sports heroes or thinkers honored in the world, while teaching them nothing about great names in Scripture. They bask in the knowledge of those impressive names like sitting in the shade of a leafy tree. They also revere those names by praising them, which is like taking a seat on a high hill.
“Mountain of Mine in the countryside” (Jeremiah 17:3) represents Zion or Jerusalem or the temple (Micah 3:12). It is a picture of Israel in the world as the people who have strayed from God. Therefore, He will abandon His people and carry them away into exile where they will serve their enemies. The idolaters think that Jerusalem or the temple is theirs, but the LORD never gives up His ownership. It is because it is His property and they have misused it that He gives it for booty to the enemy whom He sends against them. He will also give over for booty all their wealth and treasures, for which they worship their idols as if they had received it from them.
The people will be forced to let go of the land, which had been given to them as an inheritance, but which they have so defiled with their idolatry (Jeremiah 17:4). This speaks of the rest of the sabbath years that the people have not given the land, against the LORD’s command (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:4-5). This will happen when the LORD brings enemies upon them who will subdue them, remove them from their land, and whom they will have to serve.
The land they do not know is Babylon. That they will be there, they have themselves to blame. They have taunted the LORD to the extreme with their idolatry. Now His anger has been kindled in all its intensity, with no way to extinguish it. His anger has been kindled by them because they persist in sin. His anger will burn for all eternity, like the fire in hell. God’s anger against sin is always for eternity. His anger only comes to an end when sin is confessed and hands are laid in faith on the atoning work of Christ.
Jeremiah 49:22
Israel’s Indelible Sin
Jeremiah uses strong language to put before the people their iniquity (Jeremiah 17:1). “The sin of Judah” is in the singular. It is the sin of idolatry. All those idols and all the tributes to them are summed up in this singular designation. That “the sin of Judah” is engraved in their hearts means that they love sin and that it is completely integrated into their lives, is completely intertwined with it. Sin is more than a wrong action, it is the condition of the heart.
What is engraved is written indelibly (Job 19:24), in this case as an everlasting indictment, a monument of sin. It is engraved like the inscription on a tombstone. It was done with an iron stylus, with a diamond point. With a diamond point, the hardest stone can be worked. Their sin is engraved in their hearts, where the law should be written (Jeremiah 31:33; cf. Hebrews 8:10; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 7:3).
Their sin is also written on the horns of their altars. These are their idol altars. A horn speaks of strength and here means that they are powerful in committing sin. These altars have nothing to do with the altar of burnt offering in the temple, on which the blood of atonement is put (Leviticus 4:7; 18). The LORD does not see the blood that speaks of the sacrifice of His beloved Son, but He sees the sin of guilty Israel engraved on their hearts and on the horns of their idol altars. God’s judgment on their sin is therefore as inevitable and inescapable as their sin is indelible.
The people of Judah think of their idols as often and with as much love as they do of their children (Jeremiah 17:2). Children and altars are the objects of their love and they link them together. They train their children to commit idolatry and bring them “by green trees on the high hills” which are mentioned here as the usual places of idolatry (Ezekiel 6:13).
Many Christian parents are intent on telling their children a lot about great names in the world, sports heroes or thinkers honored in the world, while teaching them nothing about great names in Scripture. They bask in the knowledge of those impressive names like sitting in the shade of a leafy tree. They also revere those names by praising them, which is like taking a seat on a high hill.
“Mountain of Mine in the countryside” (Jeremiah 17:3) represents Zion or Jerusalem or the temple (Micah 3:12). It is a picture of Israel in the world as the people who have strayed from God. Therefore, He will abandon His people and carry them away into exile where they will serve their enemies. The idolaters think that Jerusalem or the temple is theirs, but the LORD never gives up His ownership. It is because it is His property and they have misused it that He gives it for booty to the enemy whom He sends against them. He will also give over for booty all their wealth and treasures, for which they worship their idols as if they had received it from them.
The people will be forced to let go of the land, which had been given to them as an inheritance, but which they have so defiled with their idolatry (Jeremiah 17:4). This speaks of the rest of the sabbath years that the people have not given the land, against the LORD’s command (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:4-5). This will happen when the LORD brings enemies upon them who will subdue them, remove them from their land, and whom they will have to serve.
The land they do not know is Babylon. That they will be there, they have themselves to blame. They have taunted the LORD to the extreme with their idolatry. Now His anger has been kindled in all its intensity, with no way to extinguish it. His anger has been kindled by them because they persist in sin. His anger will burn for all eternity, like the fire in hell. God’s anger against sin is always for eternity. His anger only comes to an end when sin is confessed and hands are laid in faith on the atoning work of Christ.
Jeremiah 49:23
The Way of Curse and Blessing
In these verses Jeremiah compares the way of the wicked with the way of the God-fearing. He contrasts curse and blessing – and thus death and life. Judah turned to false gods and sought protection from foreign powers (Jeremiah 17:5). Here it is about putting their trust in alliances with Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt (Isaiah 31:1-3), as the situation demands. Judah is “the man who trusts in mankind”, that is, the weak, perishable, mortal man (Isaiah 40:6). He is also one who “makes flesh his strength”, that is, seeks his strength from the creature and not from the Maker (cf. Psalms 56:4). This happens because their heart has turned away from the LORD. Their heart is not set on Him.
If our heart is not set on the Lord, we too will fall into the trap of ‘human expectations’. This happens when we put our trust in people and not in the Lord when faced with problems. This can be, for example, with illness, financial worries, marriage problems, forms of addiction, unemployment. Jeremiah calls this trap a curse and a departure from the LORD. The bad feature of the trap of human expectations is that it shuts God out of our thinking.
Whoever sets his expectation on men and not on the Lord will be blind to the good that is coming (Jeremiah 17:6). Nothing goes out from him and there is nothing that brings him to fruition. His condition is barren and hopeless. Because the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), man chooses to dwell like a barren bush in the driest places, believing that it is good to be there. But it is impossible to produce fruit and see goodness apart from the source of living water. The deceitful heart takes the mirage of the world for reality.
The man who trusts in the LORD (Jeremiah 17:7a), yes, what is more, whose trust is the LORD Himself (Jeremiah 17:7b), is in a totally different condition. He is at the Source and from Him receives his strength to grow (Jeremiah 17:8; Psalms 1:3). He does not notice when evil comes, for it does not bother him. He continues to radiate freshness and bear fruit even if a period of drought comes, because the roots are still connected to the Source.
There is a remarkable similarity in the use of words in Jeremiah 17:6 and Jeremiah 17:8 that is at the same time a sharp contrast. The expressions “will not see” (Jeremiah 17:6) and “will not fear” (Jeremiah 17:8) are the same word. In the context in which these words are used, we see that those who forsake the LORD are insensitive to good, and those who trust in the LORD are insensitive to heat and drought because they extend their roots by a stream.
Jeremiah 49:24
The Way of Curse and Blessing
In these verses Jeremiah compares the way of the wicked with the way of the God-fearing. He contrasts curse and blessing – and thus death and life. Judah turned to false gods and sought protection from foreign powers (Jeremiah 17:5). Here it is about putting their trust in alliances with Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt (Isaiah 31:1-3), as the situation demands. Judah is “the man who trusts in mankind”, that is, the weak, perishable, mortal man (Isaiah 40:6). He is also one who “makes flesh his strength”, that is, seeks his strength from the creature and not from the Maker (cf. Psalms 56:4). This happens because their heart has turned away from the LORD. Their heart is not set on Him.
If our heart is not set on the Lord, we too will fall into the trap of ‘human expectations’. This happens when we put our trust in people and not in the Lord when faced with problems. This can be, for example, with illness, financial worries, marriage problems, forms of addiction, unemployment. Jeremiah calls this trap a curse and a departure from the LORD. The bad feature of the trap of human expectations is that it shuts God out of our thinking.
Whoever sets his expectation on men and not on the Lord will be blind to the good that is coming (Jeremiah 17:6). Nothing goes out from him and there is nothing that brings him to fruition. His condition is barren and hopeless. Because the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), man chooses to dwell like a barren bush in the driest places, believing that it is good to be there. But it is impossible to produce fruit and see goodness apart from the source of living water. The deceitful heart takes the mirage of the world for reality.
The man who trusts in the LORD (Jeremiah 17:7a), yes, what is more, whose trust is the LORD Himself (Jeremiah 17:7b), is in a totally different condition. He is at the Source and from Him receives his strength to grow (Jeremiah 17:8; Psalms 1:3). He does not notice when evil comes, for it does not bother him. He continues to radiate freshness and bear fruit even if a period of drought comes, because the roots are still connected to the Source.
There is a remarkable similarity in the use of words in Jeremiah 17:6 and Jeremiah 17:8 that is at the same time a sharp contrast. The expressions “will not see” (Jeremiah 17:6) and “will not fear” (Jeremiah 17:8) are the same word. In the context in which these words are used, we see that those who forsake the LORD are insensitive to good, and those who trust in the LORD are insensitive to heat and drought because they extend their roots by a stream.
Jeremiah 49:25
The Way of Curse and Blessing
In these verses Jeremiah compares the way of the wicked with the way of the God-fearing. He contrasts curse and blessing – and thus death and life. Judah turned to false gods and sought protection from foreign powers (Jeremiah 17:5). Here it is about putting their trust in alliances with Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt (Isaiah 31:1-3), as the situation demands. Judah is “the man who trusts in mankind”, that is, the weak, perishable, mortal man (Isaiah 40:6). He is also one who “makes flesh his strength”, that is, seeks his strength from the creature and not from the Maker (cf. Psalms 56:4). This happens because their heart has turned away from the LORD. Their heart is not set on Him.
If our heart is not set on the Lord, we too will fall into the trap of ‘human expectations’. This happens when we put our trust in people and not in the Lord when faced with problems. This can be, for example, with illness, financial worries, marriage problems, forms of addiction, unemployment. Jeremiah calls this trap a curse and a departure from the LORD. The bad feature of the trap of human expectations is that it shuts God out of our thinking.
Whoever sets his expectation on men and not on the Lord will be blind to the good that is coming (Jeremiah 17:6). Nothing goes out from him and there is nothing that brings him to fruition. His condition is barren and hopeless. Because the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), man chooses to dwell like a barren bush in the driest places, believing that it is good to be there. But it is impossible to produce fruit and see goodness apart from the source of living water. The deceitful heart takes the mirage of the world for reality.
The man who trusts in the LORD (Jeremiah 17:7a), yes, what is more, whose trust is the LORD Himself (Jeremiah 17:7b), is in a totally different condition. He is at the Source and from Him receives his strength to grow (Jeremiah 17:8; Psalms 1:3). He does not notice when evil comes, for it does not bother him. He continues to radiate freshness and bear fruit even if a period of drought comes, because the roots are still connected to the Source.
There is a remarkable similarity in the use of words in Jeremiah 17:6 and Jeremiah 17:8 that is at the same time a sharp contrast. The expressions “will not see” (Jeremiah 17:6) and “will not fear” (Jeremiah 17:8) are the same word. In the context in which these words are used, we see that those who forsake the LORD are insensitive to good, and those who trust in the LORD are insensitive to heat and drought because they extend their roots by a stream.
Jeremiah 49:26
The Way of Curse and Blessing
In these verses Jeremiah compares the way of the wicked with the way of the God-fearing. He contrasts curse and blessing – and thus death and life. Judah turned to false gods and sought protection from foreign powers (Jeremiah 17:5). Here it is about putting their trust in alliances with Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt (Isaiah 31:1-3), as the situation demands. Judah is “the man who trusts in mankind”, that is, the weak, perishable, mortal man (Isaiah 40:6). He is also one who “makes flesh his strength”, that is, seeks his strength from the creature and not from the Maker (cf. Psalms 56:4). This happens because their heart has turned away from the LORD. Their heart is not set on Him.
If our heart is not set on the Lord, we too will fall into the trap of ‘human expectations’. This happens when we put our trust in people and not in the Lord when faced with problems. This can be, for example, with illness, financial worries, marriage problems, forms of addiction, unemployment. Jeremiah calls this trap a curse and a departure from the LORD. The bad feature of the trap of human expectations is that it shuts God out of our thinking.
Whoever sets his expectation on men and not on the Lord will be blind to the good that is coming (Jeremiah 17:6). Nothing goes out from him and there is nothing that brings him to fruition. His condition is barren and hopeless. Because the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), man chooses to dwell like a barren bush in the driest places, believing that it is good to be there. But it is impossible to produce fruit and see goodness apart from the source of living water. The deceitful heart takes the mirage of the world for reality.
The man who trusts in the LORD (Jeremiah 17:7a), yes, what is more, whose trust is the LORD Himself (Jeremiah 17:7b), is in a totally different condition. He is at the Source and from Him receives his strength to grow (Jeremiah 17:8; Psalms 1:3). He does not notice when evil comes, for it does not bother him. He continues to radiate freshness and bear fruit even if a period of drought comes, because the roots are still connected to the Source.
There is a remarkable similarity in the use of words in Jeremiah 17:6 and Jeremiah 17:8 that is at the same time a sharp contrast. The expressions “will not see” (Jeremiah 17:6) and “will not fear” (Jeremiah 17:8) are the same word. In the context in which these words are used, we see that those who forsake the LORD are insensitive to good, and those who trust in the LORD are insensitive to heat and drought because they extend their roots by a stream.
Jeremiah 49:27
The Deceitfulness of the Human Heart
If the way of blessing and the way of curse are so clearly presented in the verses above, why does a man still choose the way of sin? The reason lies in his heart. The source of all the trouble a man brings upon himself is his heart (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19). Hence we are called to “watch” over our hearts “with all diligence, for from it [flow] the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart means the total inner man, including his thinking. From the heart come the will and actions. The heart is also desperately sick. No one can fully fathom his own heart (cf. Psalms 64:6).
The question of Jer 17:9 is answered in Jeremiah 17:10. Man does not know his own heart, but the LORD knows and searches it perfectly (Hebrews 4:12-13; Psalms 7:9b; Psalms 139:2-6; John 2:25). With that knowledge, He can also make a perfect judgment in accordance with the fruit of his deeds, which come from the deliberations of his heart. By the fruit of his deeds the tree, man, is known (Matthew 12:33-35). To the believer this is an encouragement and to the unbeliever a threat.
The example of the partridge hatching eggs it did not lay shows that the young she wants to show off are not her own (Jeremiah 17:11). So it is with wealth that has not been honestly obtained. This hypocrisy comes from the deceitful heart. The time will come when this becomes clear and then he will lose everything and become known as a fool himself (cf. Luke 12:20; 1 Samuel 25:25; Proverbs 23:5).
Opposite all the appearances and uncertainty of the previous verse, there is one certainty for the believer and that is the glorious throne of God on high (Jeremiah 17:12). Opposite the riches that are lost like that, there is the eternal throne of God. That is the place of the believer’s sanctuary. Therefore, we must seek the things that are above (Colossians 3:1).
There is the “hope of Israel” (Jeremiah 17:13). Those who turn away from Jeremiah, who speaks God’s Word and calls for repentance, have only the firmness of the earth and that is no firmness. Those who are written in the earth will soon be erased and forgotten, as wind and rain do to what is written in the dust of the earth. It clearly draws the impermanence of man. Only the LORD, the source of living water (Jeremiah 2:13), gives safety and security. Those who forsake Him are lost. ‘Being written down on earth’ is contrasted with ‘being written in the book of life’ (Exodus 32:32; Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 21:27).
Jeremiah 49:28
The Deceitfulness of the Human Heart
If the way of blessing and the way of curse are so clearly presented in the verses above, why does a man still choose the way of sin? The reason lies in his heart. The source of all the trouble a man brings upon himself is his heart (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19). Hence we are called to “watch” over our hearts “with all diligence, for from it [flow] the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart means the total inner man, including his thinking. From the heart come the will and actions. The heart is also desperately sick. No one can fully fathom his own heart (cf. Psalms 64:6).
The question of Jer 17:9 is answered in Jeremiah 17:10. Man does not know his own heart, but the LORD knows and searches it perfectly (Hebrews 4:12-13; Psalms 7:9b; Psalms 139:2-6; John 2:25). With that knowledge, He can also make a perfect judgment in accordance with the fruit of his deeds, which come from the deliberations of his heart. By the fruit of his deeds the tree, man, is known (Matthew 12:33-35). To the believer this is an encouragement and to the unbeliever a threat.
The example of the partridge hatching eggs it did not lay shows that the young she wants to show off are not her own (Jeremiah 17:11). So it is with wealth that has not been honestly obtained. This hypocrisy comes from the deceitful heart. The time will come when this becomes clear and then he will lose everything and become known as a fool himself (cf. Luke 12:20; 1 Samuel 25:25; Proverbs 23:5).
Opposite all the appearances and uncertainty of the previous verse, there is one certainty for the believer and that is the glorious throne of God on high (Jeremiah 17:12). Opposite the riches that are lost like that, there is the eternal throne of God. That is the place of the believer’s sanctuary. Therefore, we must seek the things that are above (Colossians 3:1).
There is the “hope of Israel” (Jeremiah 17:13). Those who turn away from Jeremiah, who speaks God’s Word and calls for repentance, have only the firmness of the earth and that is no firmness. Those who are written in the earth will soon be erased and forgotten, as wind and rain do to what is written in the dust of the earth. It clearly draws the impermanence of man. Only the LORD, the source of living water (Jeremiah 2:13), gives safety and security. Those who forsake Him are lost. ‘Being written down on earth’ is contrasted with ‘being written in the book of life’ (Exodus 32:32; Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 21:27).
Jeremiah 49:29
The Deceitfulness of the Human Heart
If the way of blessing and the way of curse are so clearly presented in the verses above, why does a man still choose the way of sin? The reason lies in his heart. The source of all the trouble a man brings upon himself is his heart (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19). Hence we are called to “watch” over our hearts “with all diligence, for from it [flow] the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart means the total inner man, including his thinking. From the heart come the will and actions. The heart is also desperately sick. No one can fully fathom his own heart (cf. Psalms 64:6).
The question of Jer 17:9 is answered in Jeremiah 17:10. Man does not know his own heart, but the LORD knows and searches it perfectly (Hebrews 4:12-13; Psalms 7:9b; Psalms 139:2-6; John 2:25). With that knowledge, He can also make a perfect judgment in accordance with the fruit of his deeds, which come from the deliberations of his heart. By the fruit of his deeds the tree, man, is known (Matthew 12:33-35). To the believer this is an encouragement and to the unbeliever a threat.
The example of the partridge hatching eggs it did not lay shows that the young she wants to show off are not her own (Jeremiah 17:11). So it is with wealth that has not been honestly obtained. This hypocrisy comes from the deceitful heart. The time will come when this becomes clear and then he will lose everything and become known as a fool himself (cf. Luke 12:20; 1 Samuel 25:25; Proverbs 23:5).
Opposite all the appearances and uncertainty of the previous verse, there is one certainty for the believer and that is the glorious throne of God on high (Jeremiah 17:12). Opposite the riches that are lost like that, there is the eternal throne of God. That is the place of the believer’s sanctuary. Therefore, we must seek the things that are above (Colossians 3:1).
There is the “hope of Israel” (Jeremiah 17:13). Those who turn away from Jeremiah, who speaks God’s Word and calls for repentance, have only the firmness of the earth and that is no firmness. Those who are written in the earth will soon be erased and forgotten, as wind and rain do to what is written in the dust of the earth. It clearly draws the impermanence of man. Only the LORD, the source of living water (Jeremiah 2:13), gives safety and security. Those who forsake Him are lost. ‘Being written down on earth’ is contrasted with ‘being written in the book of life’ (Exodus 32:32; Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 21:27).
Jeremiah 49:30
The Deceitfulness of the Human Heart
If the way of blessing and the way of curse are so clearly presented in the verses above, why does a man still choose the way of sin? The reason lies in his heart. The source of all the trouble a man brings upon himself is his heart (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19). Hence we are called to “watch” over our hearts “with all diligence, for from it [flow] the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart means the total inner man, including his thinking. From the heart come the will and actions. The heart is also desperately sick. No one can fully fathom his own heart (cf. Psalms 64:6).
The question of Jer 17:9 is answered in Jeremiah 17:10. Man does not know his own heart, but the LORD knows and searches it perfectly (Hebrews 4:12-13; Psalms 7:9b; Psalms 139:2-6; John 2:25). With that knowledge, He can also make a perfect judgment in accordance with the fruit of his deeds, which come from the deliberations of his heart. By the fruit of his deeds the tree, man, is known (Matthew 12:33-35). To the believer this is an encouragement and to the unbeliever a threat.
The example of the partridge hatching eggs it did not lay shows that the young she wants to show off are not her own (Jeremiah 17:11). So it is with wealth that has not been honestly obtained. This hypocrisy comes from the deceitful heart. The time will come when this becomes clear and then he will lose everything and become known as a fool himself (cf. Luke 12:20; 1 Samuel 25:25; Proverbs 23:5).
Opposite all the appearances and uncertainty of the previous verse, there is one certainty for the believer and that is the glorious throne of God on high (Jeremiah 17:12). Opposite the riches that are lost like that, there is the eternal throne of God. That is the place of the believer’s sanctuary. Therefore, we must seek the things that are above (Colossians 3:1).
There is the “hope of Israel” (Jeremiah 17:13). Those who turn away from Jeremiah, who speaks God’s Word and calls for repentance, have only the firmness of the earth and that is no firmness. Those who are written in the earth will soon be erased and forgotten, as wind and rain do to what is written in the dust of the earth. It clearly draws the impermanence of man. Only the LORD, the source of living water (Jeremiah 2:13), gives safety and security. Those who forsake Him are lost. ‘Being written down on earth’ is contrasted with ‘being written in the book of life’ (Exodus 32:32; Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 21:27).
Jeremiah 49:31
The Deceitfulness of the Human Heart
If the way of blessing and the way of curse are so clearly presented in the verses above, why does a man still choose the way of sin? The reason lies in his heart. The source of all the trouble a man brings upon himself is his heart (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19). Hence we are called to “watch” over our hearts “with all diligence, for from it [flow] the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart means the total inner man, including his thinking. From the heart come the will and actions. The heart is also desperately sick. No one can fully fathom his own heart (cf. Psalms 64:6).
The question of Jer 17:9 is answered in Jeremiah 17:10. Man does not know his own heart, but the LORD knows and searches it perfectly (Hebrews 4:12-13; Psalms 7:9b; Psalms 139:2-6; John 2:25). With that knowledge, He can also make a perfect judgment in accordance with the fruit of his deeds, which come from the deliberations of his heart. By the fruit of his deeds the tree, man, is known (Matthew 12:33-35). To the believer this is an encouragement and to the unbeliever a threat.
The example of the partridge hatching eggs it did not lay shows that the young she wants to show off are not her own (Jeremiah 17:11). So it is with wealth that has not been honestly obtained. This hypocrisy comes from the deceitful heart. The time will come when this becomes clear and then he will lose everything and become known as a fool himself (cf. Luke 12:20; 1 Samuel 25:25; Proverbs 23:5).
Opposite all the appearances and uncertainty of the previous verse, there is one certainty for the believer and that is the glorious throne of God on high (Jeremiah 17:12). Opposite the riches that are lost like that, there is the eternal throne of God. That is the place of the believer’s sanctuary. Therefore, we must seek the things that are above (Colossians 3:1).
There is the “hope of Israel” (Jeremiah 17:13). Those who turn away from Jeremiah, who speaks God’s Word and calls for repentance, have only the firmness of the earth and that is no firmness. Those who are written in the earth will soon be erased and forgotten, as wind and rain do to what is written in the dust of the earth. It clearly draws the impermanence of man. Only the LORD, the source of living water (Jeremiah 2:13), gives safety and security. Those who forsake Him are lost. ‘Being written down on earth’ is contrasted with ‘being written in the book of life’ (Exodus 32:32; Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 21:27).
Jeremiah 49:32
Jeremiah’s Plea for Justification
Jeremiah knows where to find healing: with the LORD (Jeremiah 17:14). He also knows where salvation can be found: also with the LORD. It is about support and protection. He wants to be healed of his doubts and despondency and tendency to give up his service. He is wounded in his spirit by the constant opposition and rejection of his preaching. The salvation he asks for has to do with being rescued from the power of enemies and their plans to kill him and be preserved for God’s kingdom. From this prayer his trust in the LORD speaks, for he knows that only the LORD can do what he asks (cf. 2 Timothy 4:18).
He bases his prayer on the fact that the LORD is his praise. His sickness and misery seem to be caused by the mockery of the people that God’s Word, which he has been preaching for 22 years now, is not coming true after all (Jeremiah 17:15; cf. Isaiah 5:19; Amos 6:3). That can start to gnaw, because scoffers don’t know when to stop. And it will continue for another 18 years. The false prophets have been right until now, and so have the mockers. Those scoffers have not been stopped from speaking although the word of Jeremiah has come true. Mockers do not know how to stop nor are they persuaded by the clearest evidence of the truth of God’s Word. Mockers will always be there, they are also there today (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Jeremiah appeals to his sincerity, that surely he has not done otherwise than the LORD has said to him and that it was in accordance with His heart (Jeremiah 17:16). He has been the shepherd that the LORD has wanted him to be and has gone after Him for that. This means that a shepherd does not have to find the way himself, but is content to follow the great Shepherd of the sheep. We then see the beautiful picture of the great Shepherd with shepherds following behind Him and with behind them again the sheep.
Love for his people has always been his motive in preaching about the coming judgment. There has been no joy in announcing that day of doom. Everything he has spoken, he has spoken in the consciousness of God’s presence. What passed from his lips came from the presence of God and therefore agreed completely with what he heard from the LORD. We also see this with Paul (2 Corinthians 2:17).
Anything may be a terror to Jeremiah and anyone may be against him, provided it is not the LORD (Jeremiah 17:17; cf. Job 6:4). It would be a terror to him if the LORD would forsake him or hid Himself from him. That would be intolerable. After all, the LORD is his refuge in a day of disaster.
He asks that what he does not wish for himself will happen to his persecutors: shame and dismay (Jeremiah 17:18). His persecutors do not reckon with the LORD, he does. Therefore, he asks for God’s intervention, that He may judge them. This fits the time in which Jeremiah lives. The double severance Jeremiah asks for means so much as asking that the LORD root out the enemies and that this prospect already confuses them and renders them powerless.
Jeremiah 49:33
Jeremiah’s Plea for Justification
Jeremiah knows where to find healing: with the LORD (Jeremiah 17:14). He also knows where salvation can be found: also with the LORD. It is about support and protection. He wants to be healed of his doubts and despondency and tendency to give up his service. He is wounded in his spirit by the constant opposition and rejection of his preaching. The salvation he asks for has to do with being rescued from the power of enemies and their plans to kill him and be preserved for God’s kingdom. From this prayer his trust in the LORD speaks, for he knows that only the LORD can do what he asks (cf. 2 Timothy 4:18).
He bases his prayer on the fact that the LORD is his praise. His sickness and misery seem to be caused by the mockery of the people that God’s Word, which he has been preaching for 22 years now, is not coming true after all (Jeremiah 17:15; cf. Isaiah 5:19; Amos 6:3). That can start to gnaw, because scoffers don’t know when to stop. And it will continue for another 18 years. The false prophets have been right until now, and so have the mockers. Those scoffers have not been stopped from speaking although the word of Jeremiah has come true. Mockers do not know how to stop nor are they persuaded by the clearest evidence of the truth of God’s Word. Mockers will always be there, they are also there today (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Jeremiah appeals to his sincerity, that surely he has not done otherwise than the LORD has said to him and that it was in accordance with His heart (Jeremiah 17:16). He has been the shepherd that the LORD has wanted him to be and has gone after Him for that. This means that a shepherd does not have to find the way himself, but is content to follow the great Shepherd of the sheep. We then see the beautiful picture of the great Shepherd with shepherds following behind Him and with behind them again the sheep.
Love for his people has always been his motive in preaching about the coming judgment. There has been no joy in announcing that day of doom. Everything he has spoken, he has spoken in the consciousness of God’s presence. What passed from his lips came from the presence of God and therefore agreed completely with what he heard from the LORD. We also see this with Paul (2 Corinthians 2:17).
Anything may be a terror to Jeremiah and anyone may be against him, provided it is not the LORD (Jeremiah 17:17; cf. Job 6:4). It would be a terror to him if the LORD would forsake him or hid Himself from him. That would be intolerable. After all, the LORD is his refuge in a day of disaster.
He asks that what he does not wish for himself will happen to his persecutors: shame and dismay (Jeremiah 17:18). His persecutors do not reckon with the LORD, he does. Therefore, he asks for God’s intervention, that He may judge them. This fits the time in which Jeremiah lives. The double severance Jeremiah asks for means so much as asking that the LORD root out the enemies and that this prospect already confuses them and renders them powerless.
Jeremiah 49:34
Jeremiah’s Plea for Justification
Jeremiah knows where to find healing: with the LORD (Jeremiah 17:14). He also knows where salvation can be found: also with the LORD. It is about support and protection. He wants to be healed of his doubts and despondency and tendency to give up his service. He is wounded in his spirit by the constant opposition and rejection of his preaching. The salvation he asks for has to do with being rescued from the power of enemies and their plans to kill him and be preserved for God’s kingdom. From this prayer his trust in the LORD speaks, for he knows that only the LORD can do what he asks (cf. 2 Timothy 4:18).
He bases his prayer on the fact that the LORD is his praise. His sickness and misery seem to be caused by the mockery of the people that God’s Word, which he has been preaching for 22 years now, is not coming true after all (Jeremiah 17:15; cf. Isaiah 5:19; Amos 6:3). That can start to gnaw, because scoffers don’t know when to stop. And it will continue for another 18 years. The false prophets have been right until now, and so have the mockers. Those scoffers have not been stopped from speaking although the word of Jeremiah has come true. Mockers do not know how to stop nor are they persuaded by the clearest evidence of the truth of God’s Word. Mockers will always be there, they are also there today (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Jeremiah appeals to his sincerity, that surely he has not done otherwise than the LORD has said to him and that it was in accordance with His heart (Jeremiah 17:16). He has been the shepherd that the LORD has wanted him to be and has gone after Him for that. This means that a shepherd does not have to find the way himself, but is content to follow the great Shepherd of the sheep. We then see the beautiful picture of the great Shepherd with shepherds following behind Him and with behind them again the sheep.
Love for his people has always been his motive in preaching about the coming judgment. There has been no joy in announcing that day of doom. Everything he has spoken, he has spoken in the consciousness of God’s presence. What passed from his lips came from the presence of God and therefore agreed completely with what he heard from the LORD. We also see this with Paul (2 Corinthians 2:17).
Anything may be a terror to Jeremiah and anyone may be against him, provided it is not the LORD (Jeremiah 17:17; cf. Job 6:4). It would be a terror to him if the LORD would forsake him or hid Himself from him. That would be intolerable. After all, the LORD is his refuge in a day of disaster.
He asks that what he does not wish for himself will happen to his persecutors: shame and dismay (Jeremiah 17:18). His persecutors do not reckon with the LORD, he does. Therefore, he asks for God’s intervention, that He may judge them. This fits the time in which Jeremiah lives. The double severance Jeremiah asks for means so much as asking that the LORD root out the enemies and that this prospect already confuses them and renders them powerless.
Jeremiah 49:35
Jeremiah’s Plea for Justification
Jeremiah knows where to find healing: with the LORD (Jeremiah 17:14). He also knows where salvation can be found: also with the LORD. It is about support and protection. He wants to be healed of his doubts and despondency and tendency to give up his service. He is wounded in his spirit by the constant opposition and rejection of his preaching. The salvation he asks for has to do with being rescued from the power of enemies and their plans to kill him and be preserved for God’s kingdom. From this prayer his trust in the LORD speaks, for he knows that only the LORD can do what he asks (cf. 2 Timothy 4:18).
He bases his prayer on the fact that the LORD is his praise. His sickness and misery seem to be caused by the mockery of the people that God’s Word, which he has been preaching for 22 years now, is not coming true after all (Jeremiah 17:15; cf. Isaiah 5:19; Amos 6:3). That can start to gnaw, because scoffers don’t know when to stop. And it will continue for another 18 years. The false prophets have been right until now, and so have the mockers. Those scoffers have not been stopped from speaking although the word of Jeremiah has come true. Mockers do not know how to stop nor are they persuaded by the clearest evidence of the truth of God’s Word. Mockers will always be there, they are also there today (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Jeremiah appeals to his sincerity, that surely he has not done otherwise than the LORD has said to him and that it was in accordance with His heart (Jeremiah 17:16). He has been the shepherd that the LORD has wanted him to be and has gone after Him for that. This means that a shepherd does not have to find the way himself, but is content to follow the great Shepherd of the sheep. We then see the beautiful picture of the great Shepherd with shepherds following behind Him and with behind them again the sheep.
Love for his people has always been his motive in preaching about the coming judgment. There has been no joy in announcing that day of doom. Everything he has spoken, he has spoken in the consciousness of God’s presence. What passed from his lips came from the presence of God and therefore agreed completely with what he heard from the LORD. We also see this with Paul (2 Corinthians 2:17).
Anything may be a terror to Jeremiah and anyone may be against him, provided it is not the LORD (Jeremiah 17:17; cf. Job 6:4). It would be a terror to him if the LORD would forsake him or hid Himself from him. That would be intolerable. After all, the LORD is his refuge in a day of disaster.
He asks that what he does not wish for himself will happen to his persecutors: shame and dismay (Jeremiah 17:18). His persecutors do not reckon with the LORD, he does. Therefore, he asks for God’s intervention, that He may judge them. This fits the time in which Jeremiah lives. The double severance Jeremiah asks for means so much as asking that the LORD root out the enemies and that this prospect already confuses them and renders them powerless.
Jeremiah 49:36
Jeremiah’s Plea for Justification
Jeremiah knows where to find healing: with the LORD (Jeremiah 17:14). He also knows where salvation can be found: also with the LORD. It is about support and protection. He wants to be healed of his doubts and despondency and tendency to give up his service. He is wounded in his spirit by the constant opposition and rejection of his preaching. The salvation he asks for has to do with being rescued from the power of enemies and their plans to kill him and be preserved for God’s kingdom. From this prayer his trust in the LORD speaks, for he knows that only the LORD can do what he asks (cf. 2 Timothy 4:18).
He bases his prayer on the fact that the LORD is his praise. His sickness and misery seem to be caused by the mockery of the people that God’s Word, which he has been preaching for 22 years now, is not coming true after all (Jeremiah 17:15; cf. Isaiah 5:19; Amos 6:3). That can start to gnaw, because scoffers don’t know when to stop. And it will continue for another 18 years. The false prophets have been right until now, and so have the mockers. Those scoffers have not been stopped from speaking although the word of Jeremiah has come true. Mockers do not know how to stop nor are they persuaded by the clearest evidence of the truth of God’s Word. Mockers will always be there, they are also there today (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Jeremiah appeals to his sincerity, that surely he has not done otherwise than the LORD has said to him and that it was in accordance with His heart (Jeremiah 17:16). He has been the shepherd that the LORD has wanted him to be and has gone after Him for that. This means that a shepherd does not have to find the way himself, but is content to follow the great Shepherd of the sheep. We then see the beautiful picture of the great Shepherd with shepherds following behind Him and with behind them again the sheep.
Love for his people has always been his motive in preaching about the coming judgment. There has been no joy in announcing that day of doom. Everything he has spoken, he has spoken in the consciousness of God’s presence. What passed from his lips came from the presence of God and therefore agreed completely with what he heard from the LORD. We also see this with Paul (2 Corinthians 2:17).
Anything may be a terror to Jeremiah and anyone may be against him, provided it is not the LORD (Jeremiah 17:17; cf. Job 6:4). It would be a terror to him if the LORD would forsake him or hid Himself from him. That would be intolerable. After all, the LORD is his refuge in a day of disaster.
He asks that what he does not wish for himself will happen to his persecutors: shame and dismay (Jeremiah 17:18). His persecutors do not reckon with the LORD, he does. Therefore, he asks for God’s intervention, that He may judge them. This fits the time in which Jeremiah lives. The double severance Jeremiah asks for means so much as asking that the LORD root out the enemies and that this prospect already confuses them and renders them powerless.
Jeremiah 49:37
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
The LORD listens to our complaints, but also wants that we continue to work for Him. For this He also gives the necessary strength. Jeremiah, in response to his complaints, is given a new assignment that centers on the sabbath commandment. He is to go to the public gate – through which kings enter and exit – and also to the other gates (Jeremiah 17:19). Jeremiah has prophesied under five kings and possibly every time another king comes in, he passes his message there.
It may seem at first glance that the verses of this section have a quite different subject from what has been before us in the previous verses. But it is not. Keeping the sabbath day holy, the fourth commandment of the ten commandments of the law, has a special significance. The keeping of the sabbath day means the weekly acknowledgment of the LORD as Creator and Redeemer and is thus a testimony against idols. It guarantees God’s people rest, which the idols cannot give. It is also one of the special features of Israel’s religion because it shows the special covenant relationship that exists between the LORD and them.
The attitude of the people toward the sabbath day reflects the attitude of the people toward the LORD. If for them keeping the sabbath day holy is a joy, it is evidence that their heart is faithful to the LORD. If they do what they please on that day, it makes clear their abandonment of the LORD. The sabbath day is the great touchstone that God presents to the people, by which they can show that they are obedient to His Word (Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12).
The word Jeremiah is to preach is not only to the kings, but also to all the people (Jeremiah 17:20). He is to say to all: “Listen to the word of the LORD.” In this word the people are warned concerning their conduct on the sabbath day, for their life is at stake (Jeremiah 17:21). They are instructed that they shall not carry a load on the sabbath day to bring it into Jerusalem. Nor are they to take any load out of their homes. They must not even do any work (Jeremiah 17:22). The constant pressure of materialism on their life makes keeping this commandment a real test.
If one trades or works in spite of the prohibitions, it cannot be done other than for one’s own interest, for greed. It is to trade and make a profit (Nehemiah 13:19; Amos 8:5). The LORD has already given to their fathers the commandment to keep the sabbath day holy (Deuteronomy 5:12-15). From the earliest days of their existence as a people, He wanted that day to be set apart from all other days as a day to serve not themselves, but Him. This is not about keeping the commandment outwardly, but about making visible an inner mind toward the LORD.
Sadly, it is clear how they are toward the LORD. In Jeremiah 17:23, the LORD shows how averse they have been: 1. “Yet they did not listen 2. or incline their ears, 3. but stiffened their necks 4. in order not to listen 5. or take correction.”
This observation does not stop there. The LORD, in His great mercy, adds the invitation to repent (Jeremiah 17:24). The people are given another opportunity to avert judgment, the curse, which will happen if they “listen attentively” to Him. The word “attentively” shows that the LORD is not waiting for lip-language, for fancy words alone. He is looking for truth in the innermost being followed by action. In this case, the people can show that they are listening to Him and doing what He has said regarding the sabbath day.
The blessing that follows obedience to the sabbath commandment is broadly expressed (Jeremiah 17:25). The throne of David will not be empty. Someone from the lineage of David will always reign. And “this city [Jerusalem] will be inhabited forever”, meaning that it will not be depopulated. Instead of being depopulated, people will flock to the city from all sides (Jeremiah 17:26). All these people will offer their various sacrifices there in “the house of the LORD”. That is God’s purpose when He populates a city. That is also God’s purpose with the gathering of the local church. He wants sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, spiritual sacrifices, to be offered there, in the place where the Lord Jesus now dwells.
This promise of blessing upon obedience is followed by the dark flip side (Jeremiah 17:27). If they do not keep the sabbath day holy, but use it for themselves, the LORD will kindle the fire of judgment in the gates of Jerusalem. In the place where the transgression is most visible and where God’s Word has sounded strongly against it, the word of warning will be fulfilled. That fire will reduce their beautiful dwellings to ashes, without any chance of quenching the fire. This actually happened by the armies of Babylon (Jeremiah 52:12-13).
Jeremiah 49:38
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
The LORD listens to our complaints, but also wants that we continue to work for Him. For this He also gives the necessary strength. Jeremiah, in response to his complaints, is given a new assignment that centers on the sabbath commandment. He is to go to the public gate – through which kings enter and exit – and also to the other gates (Jeremiah 17:19). Jeremiah has prophesied under five kings and possibly every time another king comes in, he passes his message there.
It may seem at first glance that the verses of this section have a quite different subject from what has been before us in the previous verses. But it is not. Keeping the sabbath day holy, the fourth commandment of the ten commandments of the law, has a special significance. The keeping of the sabbath day means the weekly acknowledgment of the LORD as Creator and Redeemer and is thus a testimony against idols. It guarantees God’s people rest, which the idols cannot give. It is also one of the special features of Israel’s religion because it shows the special covenant relationship that exists between the LORD and them.
The attitude of the people toward the sabbath day reflects the attitude of the people toward the LORD. If for them keeping the sabbath day holy is a joy, it is evidence that their heart is faithful to the LORD. If they do what they please on that day, it makes clear their abandonment of the LORD. The sabbath day is the great touchstone that God presents to the people, by which they can show that they are obedient to His Word (Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12).
The word Jeremiah is to preach is not only to the kings, but also to all the people (Jeremiah 17:20). He is to say to all: “Listen to the word of the LORD.” In this word the people are warned concerning their conduct on the sabbath day, for their life is at stake (Jeremiah 17:21). They are instructed that they shall not carry a load on the sabbath day to bring it into Jerusalem. Nor are they to take any load out of their homes. They must not even do any work (Jeremiah 17:22). The constant pressure of materialism on their life makes keeping this commandment a real test.
If one trades or works in spite of the prohibitions, it cannot be done other than for one’s own interest, for greed. It is to trade and make a profit (Nehemiah 13:19; Amos 8:5). The LORD has already given to their fathers the commandment to keep the sabbath day holy (Deuteronomy 5:12-15). From the earliest days of their existence as a people, He wanted that day to be set apart from all other days as a day to serve not themselves, but Him. This is not about keeping the commandment outwardly, but about making visible an inner mind toward the LORD.
Sadly, it is clear how they are toward the LORD. In Jeremiah 17:23, the LORD shows how averse they have been: 1. “Yet they did not listen 2. or incline their ears, 3. but stiffened their necks 4. in order not to listen 5. or take correction.”
This observation does not stop there. The LORD, in His great mercy, adds the invitation to repent (Jeremiah 17:24). The people are given another opportunity to avert judgment, the curse, which will happen if they “listen attentively” to Him. The word “attentively” shows that the LORD is not waiting for lip-language, for fancy words alone. He is looking for truth in the innermost being followed by action. In this case, the people can show that they are listening to Him and doing what He has said regarding the sabbath day.
The blessing that follows obedience to the sabbath commandment is broadly expressed (Jeremiah 17:25). The throne of David will not be empty. Someone from the lineage of David will always reign. And “this city [Jerusalem] will be inhabited forever”, meaning that it will not be depopulated. Instead of being depopulated, people will flock to the city from all sides (Jeremiah 17:26). All these people will offer their various sacrifices there in “the house of the LORD”. That is God’s purpose when He populates a city. That is also God’s purpose with the gathering of the local church. He wants sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, spiritual sacrifices, to be offered there, in the place where the Lord Jesus now dwells.
This promise of blessing upon obedience is followed by the dark flip side (Jeremiah 17:27). If they do not keep the sabbath day holy, but use it for themselves, the LORD will kindle the fire of judgment in the gates of Jerusalem. In the place where the transgression is most visible and where God’s Word has sounded strongly against it, the word of warning will be fulfilled. That fire will reduce their beautiful dwellings to ashes, without any chance of quenching the fire. This actually happened by the armies of Babylon (Jeremiah 52:12-13).
Jeremiah 49:39
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
The LORD listens to our complaints, but also wants that we continue to work for Him. For this He also gives the necessary strength. Jeremiah, in response to his complaints, is given a new assignment that centers on the sabbath commandment. He is to go to the public gate – through which kings enter and exit – and also to the other gates (Jeremiah 17:19). Jeremiah has prophesied under five kings and possibly every time another king comes in, he passes his message there.
It may seem at first glance that the verses of this section have a quite different subject from what has been before us in the previous verses. But it is not. Keeping the sabbath day holy, the fourth commandment of the ten commandments of the law, has a special significance. The keeping of the sabbath day means the weekly acknowledgment of the LORD as Creator and Redeemer and is thus a testimony against idols. It guarantees God’s people rest, which the idols cannot give. It is also one of the special features of Israel’s religion because it shows the special covenant relationship that exists between the LORD and them.
The attitude of the people toward the sabbath day reflects the attitude of the people toward the LORD. If for them keeping the sabbath day holy is a joy, it is evidence that their heart is faithful to the LORD. If they do what they please on that day, it makes clear their abandonment of the LORD. The sabbath day is the great touchstone that God presents to the people, by which they can show that they are obedient to His Word (Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12).
The word Jeremiah is to preach is not only to the kings, but also to all the people (Jeremiah 17:20). He is to say to all: “Listen to the word of the LORD.” In this word the people are warned concerning their conduct on the sabbath day, for their life is at stake (Jeremiah 17:21). They are instructed that they shall not carry a load on the sabbath day to bring it into Jerusalem. Nor are they to take any load out of their homes. They must not even do any work (Jeremiah 17:22). The constant pressure of materialism on their life makes keeping this commandment a real test.
If one trades or works in spite of the prohibitions, it cannot be done other than for one’s own interest, for greed. It is to trade and make a profit (Nehemiah 13:19; Amos 8:5). The LORD has already given to their fathers the commandment to keep the sabbath day holy (Deuteronomy 5:12-15). From the earliest days of their existence as a people, He wanted that day to be set apart from all other days as a day to serve not themselves, but Him. This is not about keeping the commandment outwardly, but about making visible an inner mind toward the LORD.
Sadly, it is clear how they are toward the LORD. In Jeremiah 17:23, the LORD shows how averse they have been: 1. “Yet they did not listen 2. or incline their ears, 3. but stiffened their necks 4. in order not to listen 5. or take correction.”
This observation does not stop there. The LORD, in His great mercy, adds the invitation to repent (Jeremiah 17:24). The people are given another opportunity to avert judgment, the curse, which will happen if they “listen attentively” to Him. The word “attentively” shows that the LORD is not waiting for lip-language, for fancy words alone. He is looking for truth in the innermost being followed by action. In this case, the people can show that they are listening to Him and doing what He has said regarding the sabbath day.
The blessing that follows obedience to the sabbath commandment is broadly expressed (Jeremiah 17:25). The throne of David will not be empty. Someone from the lineage of David will always reign. And “this city [Jerusalem] will be inhabited forever”, meaning that it will not be depopulated. Instead of being depopulated, people will flock to the city from all sides (Jeremiah 17:26). All these people will offer their various sacrifices there in “the house of the LORD”. That is God’s purpose when He populates a city. That is also God’s purpose with the gathering of the local church. He wants sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, spiritual sacrifices, to be offered there, in the place where the Lord Jesus now dwells.
This promise of blessing upon obedience is followed by the dark flip side (Jeremiah 17:27). If they do not keep the sabbath day holy, but use it for themselves, the LORD will kindle the fire of judgment in the gates of Jerusalem. In the place where the transgression is most visible and where God’s Word has sounded strongly against it, the word of warning will be fulfilled. That fire will reduce their beautiful dwellings to ashes, without any chance of quenching the fire. This actually happened by the armies of Babylon (Jeremiah 52:12-13).