This week, we shall continue the study of the book of Jeremiah in the
Old Testament.
7:21-29—Rejection by the Lord: The message against Jerusalem (likely after Josiah’s death) continues.
(1) The Lord rejects their offerings (7:21)
a. What is the distinct instruction specified by the Law of Moses concerning burnt offerings (especially how to deal with the meat)? (Lev. 1:8-9)
b. Therefore what does it mean to tell the people to go ahead and “eat the meat yourselves”?
(2) They have gone backward, not forward (7:22-26)
a. What does the Lord remind them of His “real” requirement when it comes to His command? (vv. 22-23)
b. What is the reason given for their disobedience? (v. 24)
c. How did they demonstrate that they had gone “backward and not forward”?(vv. 25-26)
(3) The Lord has now given up on them (9:27-29)
a. Why is it futile for Jeremiah to continue to rebuke and warn them? (v. 28)
b. Is this also a fitting description of your society? Why or why not?
c. In what ways are the following a sign of rejection (or giving up) by the Lord?
- The order to cut off (the prophet’s or Jerusalem’s) hair (see Num. 6:2-8; Job 1:20)
- The taking up of a lament on barren heights
7:30–8:3—Sinful Deeds in the Valley of Hinnom and Their Consequences:
(4) In justifying His rejection, the Lord cites some of the most detestable practices the people of Judah had brought back since the days of Manasseh:
a. How did they defile the temple of the Lord? (v. 30)
b. In addition to such defilement, what detestable practice had they re-introduced in Judah? (v. 31; see 2 Ki. 23:10)
c. What does the Law of Moses say about such a practice and what punishment is prescribed for such a sin? (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5)
d. The Punishment (7:32–8:3)
- What will happen in the Valley in Topheth? (7:32)
- What will happen across Judah? (7:33)
- What will happen to the bones of those already buried? What does it signify? (8:1-2)
- What will happen to those who survive? (8:3)
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire — something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.” (Jer. 7:31)
While we do not know the exact time that Jeremiah received this message from the Lord which begins in chapter 7 (even if it was not immediately after the death of Josiah, but well into the time of Jehoiakim), the swiftness and extent of their return to idol worship was still alarming. Not only did they follow the footsteps of Manasseh in bringing back idols right inside the temple of the Lord which was a blatant defilement of the sanctuary (7:30), they even brought back perhaps the most detestable of all forms of idol worship — the burning of their sons and daughters as a sacrifice (7:31). When the Lord points out that it was something He did not command, nor did it enter His mind (7:31), it appears that “the people imagined that such human sacrifices were acceptable to Yahweh” (NICOT, Jeremiah, 294).
In other words, instead of sacrificing their children to Molech as prohibited by the Law of Moses (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5), it appeared that they made these sacrifices not to Molech but in the name of the Lord. As we know such extreme forms of sacrifice were made by the pagans to appease the wrath of their gods, perhaps, this was the way they wished to appease the Lord given the warnings of destruction prophesied by successive prophets (the latest of whom was Jeremiah), and the prophecies concerning Israel had come to pass before the very eyes.
But what the Lord requires is not their sacrifices, not to mention human sacrifice which He had strongly forbidden, but their obedience to all His commands (7:23). Had Josiah not restored proper worship of the Lord and the reading of the Law, they might still have an excuse. But as it was, their complete disregard of the commands of the Lord and their following the ways of the pagans had plunged them right back into the time of the Judges when everyone did as they saw fit in spite of the repeated warnings of God’s prophets. No wonder the Lord says, “They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors" (7:26).
8:4-12—The People are Senseless and Shameless
(1) The way they remain apostate (vv. 4-5)
a. Is it a matter of “cannot” or a matter of “will not”?
b. Why?
(2) Their Senselessness (vv. 6-7)
a. How has the Lord demonstrated His patience? (v. 6)
b. How they are worse than the stork, the dove, the swift and the thrush:
- How do these birds know when to migrate?
- What do the people have that are far superior to these birds?
(3) Self-deception (vv. 8-9)
a. Shouldn’t the Law of God give wisdom? (Ps. 19:7)
b. Why are they not wise instead? (v. 8)
c. Whose fault is it? Just the scribes? (v. 9)
(4) Their shamelessness (vv. 10-12)
a. How does the Lord sum up their sins in terms of the following?
- How widespread it is (v. 10b)
- Their attitude towards their detestable conduct
b. What punishments await them? (v. 10a and v. 12b)
8:13-17—Depiction of the Horror of Judgment
(5) What judgments are pronounced by the Lord in v. 13 and v. 17?
(6) The horror depicted by the words of the people in trouble:
a. Who are those who urge the people to flee to fortified cities? What for? (v. 14)
b. How hopeless will their situation be? (v. 15)
c. Dan is the northern most city that will first encounter the invasion of the armies from the north: What kind of a picture is depicted by v. 16?
8:18–9:1—The Weeping Prophet—As Jeremiah prophesies, he probably sees the destruction in a vision:
(7) Do the people not deserve God’s punishment? Why then would he grieve? (8:21)
(8) In his vision, what did he hear? (8:18-20)
a. Would he find comfort?
b. What are the questions he asked? (8:19)
c. What is God’s answer to him? (8:19)
(9) How does v. 20 reveal the pining of the people? Do you know how long they had to pine until they would receive deliverance/salvation in history?
(10) When the prophet realizes the wound of his people is beyond healing (8:22), how does he express his grief? (9:1)
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” (Jer. 8:22)
We have read only the first eight of the 52 chapters of the Book of Jeremiah, and we have already gotten a sense of the severity of the evil deeds of Judah; it is pretty well summed up by this extremely emotional accusation of the Lord, “Why have they aroused my anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?” (8:19). At the same time, we have also gotten a sense of the stubbornness and stiff-neckness of the people (7:26). Therefore, we can certainly conclude that the people fully deserve the punishment that the Lord has pronounced through the prophet.
And yet, as Jeremiah prophesied, likely visually seeing their coming plight in a vison, he basically broke down and cried. Apart from the fact that the horror of the destruction gripped him, Jeremiah said, “since my people are crushed, I am crushed” (8:21).
It is such an important reminder to us who are leaders or pastors of the church, Christ’s Body. As we face opposition and rebellion of the people we serve in the name of Christ, it is so easy to be bitter and even pray for God’s judgment, forgetting that
- If God does choose to judge, who can bear the wrath of God?! And,
- They are “our” people; if they are crushed, we should be crushed too!
It is true that Jeremiah was also enraged by the sins of the people—“I am full of the wrath of the Lord and I cannot hold it” (6:11); but even in his anger, he has not forgotten that he is only a mouth-piece of the Lord; ultimately, those are his people!
9:2-9—A Depraved People
(1) Since Jeremiah so deeply identifies with the agony of the people, why would he seek to flee from them? What does it say about his grief? (v. 2)
(2) Sins in Prosperity (v. 3)
a. How should God’s people respond to their prosperity?
b. How do these people make use of their prosperity? Why?
(3) A Society of Deceit (vv. 4-9)
a. How unethical have they turned their society into? (vv. 4-5, 8)
b. How will you live in a society that is marked by lies and deception? (v. 6)
c. What impact will it have on your own life?
d. How could God’s people degenerate into such a pitiful state? (v. 6)
e. Should they be punished by the Lord? Why or why not? (v. 9)
9:10-16—Jerusalem’s Ruin
(4) Because of their sins:
a. What will happen to the cities? (vv. 11-12)
b. Will the surrounding lands be immune? (v. 10)
c. Can you imagine such utter ruin descending upon your city?
d. If it does happen to your city, would you not ask the question in v. 12?
e. What are the sins summed up by the Lord about Judah and Jerusalem? (vv. 13-14)
f. Is your city and its people any better?
g. How unprecedented will their punishment be? (v. 16)
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan. For every one of them is a deceiver [or deceiving Jacob], and every friend a slanderer.” (Jer. 9:4)
When we left college and dived into the workplace, as much as we were determined to live a holy life and even bear witness for Christ, we found ourselves sucked imperceptibly into the culture of the workplace. I still remember that one of our leaders in the college’s Christian fellowship shared that because everyone in his workplace swore a lot, he found himself thinking also in foul language.
This is perhaps the reason why the Lord also warned Jeremiah saying, “You live in the midst of deception” (9:6). Such was the experience of another prophet, Isaiah who lived a bit earlier than Jeremiah, but who also was in the midst of a people whose lips were marked by lies and filth. It took the majestic appearance of the Holy God to make him aware of this and he thus exclaimed, “Woe to me…I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5).
If prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah could be sucked into the lying and filthy culture of their societies, how much more vigilant should we be in guarding ourselves in today’s society.
9:17-22a—Dirge over Jerusalem
(1) Why would people in ancient culture call the professional women to wail on their behalf? Would it be to prove that they were rich, or to express their extreme sorrow?
(2) Which is the case here? (v. 18)
(3) What is the substance of such a wailing? (v. 19)
(4) But who will be the ones who wail? The professional or the women in Zion? (v. 20)
(5) What will they be wailing over? (vv. 21-22)
9:23-26—Boasting in Knowing the Lord
(6) If we think we are wise without knowing the Lord, what kind of wisdom do we really have?
(7) If we are strong without knowing the Lord, how futile will our strength be?
(8) If we are very wealthy and yet do not know the Lord, in what ways are we really poor?
(9) How important are the following?
a. To know that He is the Lord (What does it mean?)
b. To know that what God really delights in are the exercises of:
- Kindness
- Justice
- Righteousness
c. How can we have such an understanding? (Prov. 9:10)
(10) These prophecies of judgment pronounced by the Lord are primarily on the whole house of Israel (including Judah). Why will the nations be punished as well one day? (vv. 25-26)
(11) What is meant by “really uncircumcised”?
(12) Why is this message of knowing who the Lord is and punishment of all nations introduced after the dirge over Jerusalem?
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“(B)ut let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” (Jer. 9:24)
It is interesting that at this juncture of this series of rebukes and warnings against Judah (likely after the death of Josiah) that a message about true boasting appears. J.A. Thompson is right when he says, “there is a certain logic in placing the verses here, for they make the point that in such critical days the only hope for men lies in the faithfulness, justice and integrity of Yahweh” (NICOT, 318).
The truth of the matter is, the only hope of all mankind, not just those during the critical days of Judah, really lies in knowing the Lord and who He is.
As the New Testament unfolds, we have come to understand that “knowing the Lord” is through the establishment of a personal relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ which is eternal life (Jn. 17:3).
However, if we truly know God, we have to know what He delights in: The exercise of kindness, justice and righteousness on earth (Jer. 9:24). That means as those who truly know God, we are to exercise the same in our lives:
- “Kindness” is the word “hesed” used 245 times in the OT to refer to the unfailing kindness of God, committed to His covenanted people, expressed beautifully in the NT by Paul: “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).
- “Justice” is the word “mispat” which means more than just doing right, but the exercise of the appropriate sentence at the pronouncement of the right verdict the absence of which encourages people to do wrong (Eccl. 8:11).
- “Righteousness” is the word “sedaqa” which refers to God’s standards in all settings — social, legal, ethical and religious, exercised by His people in their relationship with family, clan, and nations grounded in their covenant relationship with the Lord.
This message is closely followed by the judgment pronounced beyond the whole house of Israel to all the nations because of their uncircumcised hearts. In other words, if we fail to exercise God’s kind of unfailing kindness, God’s kind of justice and God’s kind of righteousness, not just in the religious setting, but in all settings, our hearts are still uncircumcised, we have yet to truly know God!
God versus Idols: In this section, the worthlessness of idols is compared to the greatness of the Lord.
(1) In each pair of contrasts, try to see the different emphases and how idols are compared to the Lord. The 1st pair:
a. Vv. 2-5: idols
b. Vv. 6-7: the Lord
c. What is the conclusion?
(2) The 2nd pair:
a. Vv. 8-9: idols
b. V. 10: the Lord
c. What is the conclusion?
(3) The 3rd pair:
a. V. 11: idols (this is the only line of this poetry written in Aramaic: see what is being highlighted)
b. Vv. 12-13: the Lord
c. What is the conclusion?
(4) The 4th pair:
a. Vv. 14-15: idols
b. V. 16: the Lord
c. What is the conclusion?
(5) Since pagans do know that the idols are made by their own hands, why would they still worship them? (v. 3)
(6) Since Israel knows this also very well, why would they follow these worthless practices?
(7) The Lord says, “Do not fear them, they can do no harm nor can they do any good” (v. 5).
a. Since all idols are man-made, why would people fear them, especially those called “Voodoos”?
b. If somehow, the evil spirits make use of idols to spread fear, should we be afraid? (1 Jn. 4:4)
c. In essence, can idols do harm? Why or why not?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” (Jer. 10:5)
I suspect that most people these days know that idols are man-made, and yet many still go and worship them either in the temples or even in the shrines that they built at home.
One is at a loss as to why in this day and age, there are still so many who believe in idols, and it is not confined to pagans, but some Catholics who worship the Madonna and other saints whose statues are obviously by the hands of men.
Jeremiah explains that pagan worship is based on their fear of the “signs in the heavens” (10:2) that would include lightning, thunder, flood and earthquakes. The wonders and might demonstrated by nature have caused them both to humble themselves to believe in a greater power than humankind and because of the devastation that sometimes comes with these heavenly signs, they seek to appease these powers which they assume to be gods. However, since they have no idea who they might be, they use their imagination to make all kinds of idols and by giving names appropriate to that particular heavenly phenomenon, they worship them as such.
In a similar vein, those who worship the Madonna or other saints also use their imagination to make images that they assume to be appropriate to their characters, and worship them as such.
In both cases, it is obvious that these idols that they have made by their imagination are worthless, thereby rendering the worshippers just as worthless (2:5). Therefore, Jeremiah urges us not to fear them, because "they can do no harm nor can they do any good” (10:5)
Of course, this is absolutely true, except that these idols can be used by the evil spirits to deceive the people, as if they themselves carry some mystical power. Of course, under these circumstances, we are really dealing with the evil spirits, therefore the idols or objects remain nothing more than lifeless objects and we should not fear them.
In confronting the evil spirits themselves, we should not be afraid either, because the Apostle John reminds us, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 Jn. 4:4).
The Coming Destruction: The comparison of idols to the Lord only serves to condemn the worthlessness of God’s people, leaving them with the certainty of judgment:
(1) Judgment in the form of exile (vv. 17-18)
a. What does it mean for the people of God to leave the Promised Land?
b. What does the use of the words “to hurl out” signify?
(2) Jeremiah’s identification with his people (vv. 19-22)
a. What does the incurable wound or injury refer to?
b. Why does he say, “I must endure it”? Is there really any alternative?
c. What kind of desolation is depicted by both v. 20 and v. 22?
(3) The shepherds refer to the leaders of the people (vv. 21)
a. While the people are of course guilty of their sins, why does the Lord single out the leaders?
b. What are the sins of the leaders mentioned in v. 21?
(4) Jeremiah’s prayer in identification with his people (vv. 23-25)
a. Is v. 23 a confession of sin or words of submission? Why?
b. Why does he ask the Lord to discipline him (i.e. the people)?
c. What does he pray, concerning the nations of which he has prophesied, as the tool of judgment of God’s people? Why?
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.”(Jer. 10:23)
As Jeremiah makes a powerful contrast between God and idols, he fittingly inserts a line in Aramaic (or Chaldee), which I believe is directed to the nations, that “These gods who did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens” (10:11). As a result, both the nations who brought these gods upon Israel, and Israel itself should be subjected to the judgment of God, hence his prayer (10:23-25) which brings this series of messages from chapters 7-10 to a close.
This prayer which Jeremiah makes in his identification with his people is two fold:
(1) He submits that they deserve God’s discipline, but he prays for mercy just as the prophet Habakkuk also does (referring to the same destruction awaiting Judah): “in wrath remember mercy” (Hab. 3:2).
(2) He asks God also to judge the nations which God uses to judge Jacob, because they too neither acknowledge Him nor call upon His name and they mercilessly devour Jacob completely (10:25).
Interestingly, this prayer is preceded by these words, “LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps” (10:23), acknowledging that God ultimately has total say in the lives of men. For generations, Israel thought they could rebel against God and control their own destiny. The truth of the matter is, “it is not within man’s power to arrange the course of his life, nor in the power of the man who walks to fix his step” (K&D, 129). The only course of action for man is to plead for mercy from God which is exactly what Jeremiah is doing!
Chapters 11-13 are basically a collection of sayings concerning the covenantal obligations of Israel:
11:1-8—God’s Covenant with Their Ancestors
(1) What is the emphasis here concerning this covenantal relationship?
(2) Has God honored His part of the covenant?
(3) Did their ancestors honor their part of the covenant?
(4) What has been the result (especially in light of what had already happened to the northern kingdom)?
(5) In Deuteronomy 28, the Lord sums up the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience: Why does the Lord choose to recount these with the people of Judah at this time?
11:9-14—Their Response Today
(6) Have they learned a lesson from the destruction of Israel? (v. 10)
(7) In pointing out their sins of returning to the sins of their ancestors, why does the Lord use “conspiracy” to describe the actions of the people of Judah? (v. 9)
(8) It appears that the Lord hates their sin of idol worship the most (vv. 11-13)
a. When disaster strikes, what will the people do?
b. Why is there no help either from the Lord or from their idols?
c. How widespread is their idol worship?
(9) Why does the Lord ask Jeremiah not to intercede for the people? (v. 14)
11:15-17—God’s Lament
(10) As much as God is very angry with His people, what does He still call them in v. 15?
a. What are their wicked deeds? Where do they do them?
b. Given who they are to God, how wicked are their deeds?
(11) What does the Lord call them in v. 16?
a. What was God’s desire for them?
b. Why does God desire now to burn what He has planted?
(12) Israel and Judah are God’s
covenant people, His beloved and His beautiful olive tree.
a. How privileged are Israel and Judah compared to the rest of the world?
b. What would you do, if you were the Lord?
c. Do you remember what the Lord planned to do with them? (see Lk. 20:13)
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“What is my beloved doing in my temple...?” (Jer. 11:15)
As we read the rebukes and prophecies of judgment pronounced by the Lord through Jeremiah and from subsequent history, we know that the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem was unavoidable, given their stubbornness to “return to the sins of their ancestors” the most detestable of which was their serving of other gods. The anger of the Lord was fully revealed as He told Jeremiah not to intercede for the people (11:14), signifying that Judah and Jerusalem have passed the point of “no return”.
It is at this moment that the Lord bares His soul — His intense love for these rebellious people whom He has chosen as His people of the Covenant, having “brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace” into “a land flowing with milk and honey” (11:4-5), and calls them “my beloved” (11:15).
By calling them His “beloved”, it obviously serves to reveal the horror of their betrayal of their God, but it also signals God’s undying love for them. As much as they would face severe judgment, God will not completely destroy them, as He has promised earlier (4:27; 5:10, 18). In fact, we know that He would not give up on them and would send His only Son, Jesus Christ to offer them the ultimate chance of repentance, thinking, “I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him” (Lk. 20:13).
Indeed, God’s love is amazing! Our God is amazing!