Jeremiah1&2

A Summary of Jeremiah 1 & 2

Jeremiah’s prophetic career began the 13^th year of King Josiah – 627bc… probably under 20yrs. Old. 

Jeremiah 1:1-10(ESV)
¹The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 
²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 
³It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
⁵    “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,      and before you were born I consecrated you;     I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 
⁷But the Lord said to me,      “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;     for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,     and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸    Do not be afraid of them,     for I am with you to deliver you,      declares the Lord.”
⁹Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,      “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
¹⁰    See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,     to pluck up and to break down,     to destroy and to overthrow,      to build and to plant.”

V. 4-10– the call of Jeremiah  –  “formed you” – related to the word for ‘potter’ – like a composer constructing the instrument for his music.  God formed Jeremiah to be the spokesman for the word of the Lord. 

Two Excuses – inadequate speaker and immature as a child not yet 20.  The command:  “Do not be afraid” – frequently in scriptures suggesting humans experience fear.  The base for overcoming fear is the assurance of God’s presence. 

V.8 –  “declares the LORD” – more of an intimate revelation made by the Lord. 

V.9-10– ‘touching Jeremiah’s mouth” – God commissioned him as his spokesman. 

Jeremiah 1:11-19(ESV)
¹¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond^£ branch.” 
¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
¹³The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 
¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north disaster^£ shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 
¹⁵For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. 
¹⁶And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 
¹⁷But you, dress yourself for work;^£ arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 
¹⁸And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 
¹⁹They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

V.11-12 – Vision of the branch of an Almond Tree

 This tree is first to bloom in the spring while other tress remain dormant.  That God is watching.

V.13-16 – Vision of a Boiling Pot   –  it pictures God’s judgment pouring down on them from the north.  They agreed to worship no other gods in order to be the recipients of God’s blessings. 

Every generation faces a similar challenge to trust in God for its security rather than in ‘gods’ of its own making.  It seems to be a recurring temptation for every concentration of power to imagine itself self-sufficient and therefore free to order its life for its own purposes without the requirements of God.

V.17-19 – Divine Challenge and Promise

There is time to be still and listen.   God prepares Jeremiah for protecting against his adversaries.  Jeremiah would be like a fortified city surrounded by attackers of enemies of his own people.  The Lord promised to make him as impregnable as a fortified city, as strong as an iron pillar, and as impervious to attack as a bronze well. 

Believers today need the same inner resources to withstand the hostility and ridicule of an unbelieving world.  It is well to note that when God calls us to a task, he does not give us a road map to follow and then leave us to our resources but God walks with us.

Jeremiah 2:1-19 –  Forsaking of God for Worthless Idols

Jeremiah 2:1-19(ESV)
¹The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 
²“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,      “I remember the devotion of your youth,      your love as a bride,      how you followed me in the wilderness,      in a land not sown.
³    Israel was holy to the Lord,      the firstfruits of his harvest.      All who ate of it incurred guilt;      disaster came upon them,     declares the Lord.”
⁴Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 
⁵Thus says the Lord:      “What wrong did your fathers find in me      that they went far from me,      and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
⁶    They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord      who brought us up from the land of Egypt,      who led us in the wilderness,      in a land of deserts and pits,      in a land of drought and deep darkness,      in a land that none passes through,     where no man dwells?’
⁷    And I brought you into a plentiful land      to enjoy its fruits and its good things.      But when you came in, you defiled my land      and made my heritage an abomination.
⁸    The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’      Those who handle the law did not know me;      the shepherds^£ transgressed against me;      the prophets prophesied by Baal     and went after things that do not profit.
⁹    “Therefore I still contend with you,     declares the Lord,      and with your children’s children I will contend.
¹⁰    For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,      or send to Kedar and examine with care;     see if there has been such a thing.
¹¹    Has a nation changed its gods,      even though they are no gods?      But my people have changed their glory      for that which does not profit.
¹²    Be appalled, O heavens, at this;      be shocked, be utterly desolate,     declares the Lord,
¹³    for my people have committed two evils:     they have forsaken me,      the fountain of living waters,      and hewed out cisterns for themselves,      broken cisterns that can hold no water.
¹⁴    “Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?      Why then has he become a prey?
¹⁵    The lions have roared against him;      they have roared loudly.      They have made his land a waste;      his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
¹⁶    Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes      have shaved^£ the crown of your head.
¹⁷    Have you not brought this upon yourself      by forsaking the Lord your God,     when he led you in the way?
¹⁸    And now what do you gain by going to Egypt      to drink the waters of the Nile?      Or what do you gain by going to Assyria      to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
¹⁹    Your evil will chastise you,      and your apostasy will reprove you.      Know and see that it is evil and bitter      for you to forsake the Lord your God;     the fear of me is not in you,      declares the Lord God of hosts.

V.1-2– “I remember your…”  first metaphor of many to describe the situation.  Israel was a people devoted to God and made a Covenant with Him at Sinai.

V.3– 2^nd metaphor:  –  “First fruits of his harvest”  the choice possession of the Lord.  Warning those who might harm His people.

v.4-5– It is written in the language of a court of law….   They were told to  “Justify your faithlessness”    They had become as worthless to the Lord as the idols they worshiped.

V.6-7– No gratitude for what God had already done for them  –  were in the land of ‘darkness’  –  no gratitude for the ‘fertile land’ given them that they defiled by their sins.

V.8– Leaders rebelled against God’s authority – Priests did not seek the Lord –  Prophets prophesying in the name of Baal.  A people totally alienated from God.

V.9-12– Jeremiah now becomes an accuser as they had abandoned their God.  Other nations changed their rank or added other gods, but they did not abandon their gods.  Contrast Israel who worshiped the true and living God and has abandoned him to serve worthless idols. 

V.13– Israel committed two sins.  1) The people had abandoned their ‘glory’, the Lord who had brought them into the Promised Land and had embraced worthless idols.  They exchanged their position of favor to a cracked cistern that would hold no water.  (Today, we can find ourselves replacing our worship to one that is pro functionary, without love of God and lack the spirit of truth.)

V.14-19– Alternatives to God always lead to destruction in line with the omnipotence of God over all creation.

Jeremiah 2:20-28 – Irresistible Attraction to Other Gods   –  more metaphors provided

Jeremiah 2:20-28(ESV)
²⁰    “For long ago I broke your yoke      and burst your bonds;     but you said, ‘I will not serve.’      yes, on every high hill      and under every green tree     you bowed down like a whore.
²¹    Yet I planted you a choice vine,      wholly of pure seed.      How then have you turned degenerate      and become a wild vine?
²²    Though you wash yourself with lye      and use much soap,     the stain of your guilt is still before me,     declares the Lord God.
²³    How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,      I have not gone after the Baals’?      Look at your way in the valley;      know what you have done—      a restless young camel running here and there,
²⁴    a wild donkey used to the wilderness,      in her heat sniffing the wind!      Who can restrain her lust?      None who seek her need weary themselves;      in her month they will find her.
²⁵    Keep your feet from going unshod      and your throat from thirst.      But you said, ‘It is hopeless,      for I have loved foreigners,     and after them I will go.’
²⁶    “As a thief is shamed when caught,      so the house of Israel shall be shamed:      they, their kings, their officials,      their priests, and their prophets,
²⁷    who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’      and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’      For they have turned their back to me,      and not their face.      But in the time of their trouble they say,      ‘Arise and save us!’
²⁸    But where are your gods      that you made for yourself?      Let them arise, if they can save you,      in your time of trouble;      for as many as your cities      are your gods, O Judah.

V.20– The ox that has broken its yoke and refuses to serve its master.  They now claim freedom from the covenant obligation they accepted at Mount Sinai by submitting themselves to Canaanite deities like a prostitute to her lovers.

V.21– Choice Vine – God had begun a good stock (vine), but Judah had corrupted it making it a wild vine.

V.22– No amount of sacrifices could now remove the guilt of Judah’s sins. 

V.23– As incredible it would be Judah was in denial of their wrongdoing.  They denied they were running after the Baals.  Illustrated as a ‘she camel’ without a driver crisscrossing her tracks as she wonders aimlessly about.

V.24  -25– Compares Judah to a ‘wild donkey’ in heat.  That it was like a wild animal consumed in carnal lust because of their manner in running after their desires and seeking out the idols.  (Like a person on drugs or alcohol with no desire to give up its gods in spite of warnings of the consequences.  That inability to abandon idols was a sign of their denial of the claim that they were free people.

V.26– showed no remorse – even the leaders

V.27 -28– shows the foolishness of idolatry.  These humans created an image of God and preferred to worship something lower than themselves.  (Ro. 1:21-23)  The Israelites would acknowledge that these idols carved by human hands were a source of life.

Jeremiah 2:29-37 – Refusal by Judah to Acknowledge its Guilt

Jeremiah 2:29-37(ESV)
²⁹    “Why do you contend with me?      You have all transgressed against me,     declares the Lord.
³⁰    In vain have I struck your children;      they took no correction;      your own sword devoured your prophets      like a ravening lion.
³¹    And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.     Have I been a wilderness to Israel,      or a land of thick darkness?      Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,      we will come no more to you’?
³²    Can a virgin forget her ornaments,      or a bride her attire?      Yet my people have forgotten me      days without number.
³³    “How well you direct your course      to seek love!      So that even to wicked women      you have taught your ways.
³⁴    Also on your skirts is found      the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;      you did not find them breaking in.      Yet in spite of all these things
³⁵    you say, ‘I am innocent;      surely his anger has turned from me.’      Behold, I will bring you to judgment      for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
³⁶    How much you go about,      changing your way!      You shall be put to shame by Egypt      as you were put to shame by Assyria.
³⁷    From it too you will come away      with your hands on your head,      for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,      and you will not prosper by them.

V.29-30– They were like incorrigible children who refuse to be chastened by discipline. 

V.31-32 –  The question:  Have I not richly blessed Israel?  The belief that rebelling against God brings freedom is a lie!  That lie goes back to the garden with Adam and Eve.   True liberty comes from submission to God, not rebellion against him.  (John 8:32,36)

V.32– Israel faithlessness is compared to harlotry by the nation. 

V. 34-35– Judah’s mistreatment of the poor is reminiscent of Amos (Amos 2:6-8)  –  Even so that the blood of the ‘innocent’ stained their clothes, they insisted they were ‘innocent’ – “clean” or “Empty”   like a clean vessel.  Since Judah was experiencing prosperity and enjoying peace they thought they we that God was not angry at them.  When Adam sinned he denied accepting the blame, so the human side step guilt.  They can’t say:  “I was wrong, forgive me!” 

V.36-37– God accused Judah of constantly changing its political loyalties.  Individuals try one religion after another but will be disappointed, for they can offer no help.  Only the Lord can provide the security and peace that all people seek.