The Covenant.
These are word from the Lord to Jeremiah.
The Lord brings to mind the covenant to the men of Judah and Jerusalem. And then He states that a man is cursed who does not heed the words of the covenant. This isn't some crazy old lady in New Orleans selling voodoo dolls. This is the One who made everything stating plainly that He will curse you if you aren't going to go the covenant.
And remember, they had all just recommitted themselves under Josiah at the first real Passover in ages. So no one is with excuse.
In verse 5 He reminds them, specifically, that a big part of what He offered in the covenant was the land He gave their forefathers when they were brought out of Egypt.
And then in verse 8 we hear that they did not listen to His voice and they did not obey that covenant.
Verse 9 starts a new paragraph and we learn that the men of Judah have conspired and have gone after and served other gods, breaking the covenant He made with their fathers.
Now disaster is coming and He won't listen to their cries. They are invited to cry to the gods they were burning incense to and see if those gods can save them. (Hint- it doesn't go well; turns out those gods are either nonexistent or demons. So no help will be coming to them.)
In verse 13 He goes on to describe just how many gods they have been chasing- as many as there are cities in Judah and streets in Jerusalem. I think there is an obvious meaning that there are a lot of them, but also that everybody had their own. Of course there were big false gods, such as baal; but I think the practical lesson would be to ask if there are local city gods I may be serving; or even something on my street. Once you (or I) take your eyes off of the Lord as the sole source of truth, protection, guidance, and worship, we are inclined to stray. So much vies for our heart and mind; and much of it is just garbage.
He goes so far, in verse 14, to warn Jeremiah not to pray for them.
Verses 15-16 seem to be poetic. A man asking if His beloved, but vile-acting wife has the right to live in His house after she sacrificed flesh to another. She was His olive tree; but now He will burn it down.
Yikes.
For the Lord of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal. Jeremiah 11:17, NASB 95
Oh! A plot twist. Starting in verse 18 we learn about a conspiracy against Jeremiah!
Verse 18 tells us that the Lord is the one to reveal the evil deeds planned against Jeremiah. "Like a lamb to the slaughter," We hear that again! They want to cut him off from the land of the living so no one will remember his name.
This all feels very prophetic about Jesus. Unmarried, weeps for his people, Set up to a be a lamb to the slaughter.
In verse 11, Jeremiah asks for vengeance on them from the Lord.
In response, God gives a summary of what happens to the specific people threatening Jeremiah--the people of Anathoth.
- He reminds them that they aren't to prophesy in the name of the Lord or they will die.
- The Lord of hosts states that He will punish them- men by the sword; sons and daughters by famine
- no remnant will be left to them.