Jer 11—God offers a renewal of His covenant under the Law of Moses
The Lord tells Jeremiah to go to the men (people) of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and offer/proclaim/remind them of His covenant to obey Him/His commandments—which if they did, they would be His people, He would be their God, and they would be given a land flowing with milk and honey: symbolizing a prosperous land, producing abundant agriculture (animals & crops, the basis of any nation’s prosperity). Otherwise, they will be cursed. It is a reiteration of the Exodus covenant, which included a blessing and a cursing—the natural consequences of obeying the Law of God given through Moses, or the disobedience/rejection of God’s laws. For what reason does God give commandments? Because in His wisdom/intelligence and compassion, He knows and tells us what will bring us happiness, peace, and prosperity, and what will bring our downfall/destruction/misery.
A couple notes: Jeremiah is to speak to the men, because they had charge/responsibility of/for the nation and its people (including their families, wives and children). In our culture we are more likely to speak of consequences rather than of curses, it’s a difference in our way of understanding life, the world, and even of God.
The people not only didn’t obey, didn’t listen, went after their own disparate goals, they conspired/agreed to do so. They were the ones who broke the covenant/sacred contract, so God is not obligated to fulfill His promises to them. He will allow bad/”evil” things to come, which they will not be able to escape (in olden times people considered anything bad as “evil”). Where is God’s mercy? God has worked with His people, been merciful to them, for hundreds of years—enough is enough. It is not Merciful not to be Just. A parent who is endlessly giving “2nd chances” (and 3rd, 4th, etc) is essentially an enabler, and isn’t doing his/her child any favors. A good parent must set boundaries and stick by them. Of course, mistakes can be made and repented of, if it is true repentance. But to pretend to repent merely to get a reprieve isn’t really repentance. Repentance means a change of heart, a change of behavior. Of course, we are imperfect beings, and God has offered means to make atonement for those imperfections, as much then as now.
When God doesn’t help the people of Judah they will go to their false gods, who can’t help them. Every city has had its favorite god, and Jerusalem has had altars to different gods in every street, and worse yet, to the particularly evil Baal (Jezebel’s god).
Again, God tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people. He’s not going to listen to their false pleas. He likens them to an adulterous wife with many lovers, who rejoices in them. He likens the nation to an olive tree that will be broken down and burned. He was the one that planted the tree, and He will be the one who will take it out, because of their worship of Baal.
Jeremiah speaks of his personal experience, in that God showed Him all this, and because he has spoken God’s word, they conspire to “sacrifice” him to their own devices (leading him like a lamb or bull to the slaughter). They intend to cut him down like a tree, so that he will not be remembered (perhaps that he will have no descendants). Jeremiah prays that God, who judges righteously, and tests every person’s heart (intentions, character, what one values and desires, as well as faithfulness to Him), will hear his cause, which he has laid out, and punish his adversaries for their wickedness—who tell him not to prophesy in the name of the Lord, or they will kill him. God answers Jeremiah that He will indeed punish them, in particular the men of Anathoth. Their young men will be killed in war, and their children will die from famine. The men of Anathoth (Jeremiah’s hometown) will have no descendants.
https://bibleatlas.org/anathoth.htm about Anathoth
Jer 12—God will punish Jeremiah’s kin for betraying him
Jeremiah acknowledges God’s righteousness, and yet, he wonders why wicked people prosper, and treacherous ones are happy. Perhaps we have all wondered, or felt that frustration. Jeremiah says, You know me, you know my heart . . . “How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, [God isn’t going to punish us, in the end].” It sounds like they were suffering a dearth/drought, and God was not revoking it.
Jeremiah uses figurative words that perhaps would have been proverbial in his time, that if someone is weary from running along with footmen carrying a VIP’s litter how can they keep up with a horse-drawn carriage? Likewise, if one trusts in the peace of the river (Jordan), what will one do during the season of flooding? This seems to have some reference to the betrayal of Jeremiah by his kin, “though they speak fair words” they harbor ill for him.
Jeremiah, and/or God, has turned his back on his people/kin. They are like a lion roaring after him with threats of devouring him, so he renounces his inheritance (see the end of the previous chapter). He likens his inheritance to a speckled bird, referring either to a small songbird (or possibly an imperfect specimen not suitable for a sacrifice unto the Lord, but the next sentence seems to make it about the former). Other, presumably larger, birds fly about her menacingly. Wild beasts come to devour her.
Many pastors (who should be tending the flock or fields) have destroyed them, or have oppressed the people (pastors and flocks used as a metaphor, like today, for the religious leaders and their congregations). These leaders don’t take it to heart when they despoil the people. In consequence, the whole land from one end to the other will be spoiled/destroyed by conquest. In another figure the Lord speaks of the leaders of the people sowing wheat (as they suppose to get rich thereby), but will reap thorns. All their efforts will go for nought (nothing), and their revenues will be embarrassing. This because the Lord is angry at them. God will pluck His people out of their land, but He will again have compassion on them, and return them to their heritage/inheritance. He is speaking, in particular, of the leaders/pastors of the people, who instead of teaching the people of God, have taught them of Baal. If those leaders would turn to God, and turn the people to God, they will be prospered among the people. If not, God will destroy the entire nation (God will allow the conquest of the nation, but it’s actually the people and their leaders who have destroyed the nation morally, which causes the material destruction of the nation.)
Jer 13—Can a leopard change its spots?
Prophets anciently often used theatrics to make their message powerful in the minds of the people. The Lord instructs Jeremiah to dramatize the relationship between Himself and Israel by taking a piece of intimate clothing and burying it in the bank of the Euphrates River, later digging it up again, and showing how it has become worthless. Likewise, Israel was close to the Lord: “This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.” 'Girdle' is a term that could mean something like a loincloth.
Using wine as a metaphor, Jeremiah speaks of Jerusalem as being so drunken that even fathers & sons will be slammed together in destruction. Next is the warning that Israel should turn to God, rather than stumble around in the darkness looking for light, but finding the shadow of death. “But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.” [God weeps for our suffering, even (or moreso) when it is the consequence of our own bad behavior/choices. He pleads with the king & queen to humble themselves before they are forcefully humbled, when armies from the north come and carry away their people captive like stolen flocks. They’ll be hurting like a woman giving birth. When you ask, Why? You can know that the greatness of your iniquities has uncovered you to shame.
Famous saying: Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? If so, then even you that are accustomed to behaving badly can become good. Jeremiah uses the metaphor of the stubble of a harvested field blown away in the wind to the wilderness, and the visualization of a person caught with their skirts up in an adulterous act. Remember that in those days even men wore robes/skirts.
Jer 14—Jeremiah pleads to God vs a serious drought
A description of famine due to drought:
--the people mourn
--the wealthy send their young ones out of town into the countryside for water, but they find none
--the ground is parched for lack of rain
--farmers are embarrassed/ashamed by the failure of their crops
--domesticated animals leave their newborns to die in the field because there is no grass/feed for the females to produce milk to nourish their young
--donkeys sniff for water/grass from upon the hills, but there is none
Jeremiah prays/pleads for mercy, though Israel has sinned. “O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble . . .”, don’t just be a visitor or a sojourner that only stays for a night! We are called by Your name, don’t leave us! The Lord answers that the people have loved to stray from Him, and He will recompense them for their sins. He tells Jeremiah once again not to pray for them. He will not listen to their cries, nor take notice of their fasts and offerings. They’ll be devastated by war, famine, and disease.
Jeremiah replies that the prophets are promising the people peace and no famine. The Lord disavows those prophets who speak lies in His name. He denies that He has sent them; they are deceivers. The Lord says that those who say there will be no war and famine will be consumed by war and famine. Those that listen to them (eg rulers/leaders) will be tossed (dead) into the streets, and no one will bury them, not even their families. The Lord enjoins Jeremiah to tell them, “Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach [as in the wall of a city breached/broken through in a siege], with a very grievous blow.” If he goes into the country, he sees those killed in fighting, if he comes back into the city he sees people dying of famine. The prophets and priests are to be carried away to a foreign land. [A nation weakened by drought/famine would be easy prey for a marauding army, if they have their own supply line secure.]
Jeremiah again pleads with the Lord: Have You utterly rejected Judah? Do you loathe Zion/Jerusalem? Why have You hit us so hard that we can’t be healed? We looked/hoped for peace, and there’s nothing good in sight. We looked for healing and see only trouble. “We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor [hate] us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.” Jeremiah is pleading with the Lord that for His own reputation He shouldn’t abandon His people. Jeremiah continues, None of the foolish/false gods of the Gentiles can cause rain [remember the showdown between Elijah and wicked queen Jezebel’s priests]. Even nature is subject to the will of God in giving rain. Jeremiah affirms “therefore we will wait upon thee . . .” for God is the Creator of all. Jeremiah's we doesn't mean everyone.
Jer 15—the Lord to Jeremiah respecting the evils of King Manasseh and Jeremiah’s own cause
The Lord says, Even if Moses or Samuel (the epitome of righteous leaders who had pull with God) pled for the nation, His mind wouldn’t change for the sake of the people. If the people ask, Where shall we go? Tell them those slated for death to death; those for the sword (death in battle) to the sword, those for famine to famine, those for captivity to captivity. People will come to 4 ends: death in battle (by the sword), or predators/scavengers—dogs, birds, or beasts (either from war or famine). And they will be scattered to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of what king Manasseh did. Jeremiah’s calling came during the reign of good King Josiah, who was after wicked King Manasseh. But after Josiah the people returned to the wickedness of King Manasseh, led by their pastors/rulers.
Who will have pity on Jerusalem, or bemoan her, or ask after her welfare? The nation has forsaken the Lord, and He is weary of their pretenses to repentance. God will destroy them and take away their posterity because they haven’t really changed their ways. He will fan them in the gates of the land, perhaps a reference to the fan of a metallurgist getting the fire superheated to melting temperatures. There will be more widows than the sand of the sea, and even women with as many as 7 sons will lose them all to the sword (warfare).
Jeremiah speaks of his anguish in being born as a controversial person. Though he has neither lent nor borrowed, it seems like everyone curses him. (Perhaps one reason God forbad Israelites to lend with interest to their fellow Israelites was because of the bad feelings that tend to ensue between borrowers and lenders—each cursing the other as being dishonest/robbers). But the Lord promises good things for Jeremiah’s posterity, and that even his enemies will come to him in time of affliction.
Then the Lord returns to bad news for the nation of Judah, that it will be conquered, and its riches be despoiled, because of sin. The people will be taken captive to a land they haven’t heard of. He returns to the analogy of fire, as a symbol of His anger.
Jeremiah pleads again for himself. In that the Lord knows him, would He remember him, avenge him of his persecutors? He pleads for the Lord’s longsuffering/mercy, that he be not carried away captive, because he has suffered reproaches for God’s sake. Jeremiah internalized God’s word, “and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah reminds the Lord that he did not join those who mocked Him or His ways/commandments, and was alone because of it. He was indignant with those mockers. He cries out, Why must I be wounded and in perpetual pain, without healing? God, wilt Thou be a liar and like a dried up spring?
The Lord responds, If you’ll come back to me, I will bring you back again [perhaps out of their clutches] to stand before me. If you separate the good from the bad, you will be able to speak for me. They can come to you, but don’t you go to them [perhaps God is speaking of the king’s court]. I will make you like a brass fence/wall, and though they fight against you, they will not prevail, “for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord…I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.”
Possibly Jeremiah, in his efforts to persuade the powerful of his day, got caught up in their life. Perhaps God was telling him to bring those who would listen into his circle, and not to return to those who would not listen. They might come to him, but he was not to return to their company. Eventually, when the end did come, Jeremiah was indeed saved from captivity, because he was known for his opposition to those in positions of power in the nation of Judah (Jer 39:11-18).
Jer 16—the Lord tells Jeremiah not to have a family in the wicked land, that is to be destroyed
The Lord tells Jeremiah not to marry and have a family where he was, for they would die terrible deaths, unlamented and unburied. They would be like excrement, killed by sword and famine, their bodies food for birds and beasts (scavengers). The Lord tells Jeremiah not to mourn for the dead: “for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, even lovingkindness and mercies.” The Lord lists the cultural ways of mourning at the time, indicating there would be none left to do so. The Lord tells Jeremiah not to go to feasts, including weddings, “For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth [merriment], and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.”
The Lord lets Jeremiah know ahead of time what people will say when he passes on what He tells him: Why is the Lord pronouncing all this terrible stuff on us? What have we done that’s so bad? Jeremiah is to say, Because your forebearers have forsaken me for other gods, and not kept my law, and you have done worse than them. Therefore, I [God] will throw you out of this land [the Land of Promise], to a land neither you nor your ancestors knew, and there you will have to serve their gods, and I won’t do you any favors.
One day, instead of saying, The God who brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt still lives, they’ll say “The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.”
The Lord sees all the people’s wicked ways, and He promises to requite them double for their sins, because they have defiled the Promised Land, and filled it with “the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.” No doubt the evidence of idol worship, including child sacrifice.
Jeremiah replies, “O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction,” the Gentiles from the ends of the earth will say it’s because they inherited lies and foolishness [a false faith/religion]. But God counters rhetorically, Should a person make his own false gods? They will know my power and what I do, and that I am [the True God].
Jer 17—Jeremiah’s teaching and prayer, particularly a re-emphasis on the Sabbath
This chapter continues regarding the sins of the kingdom of Judah, and its consequences, as well as Jeremiah’s prayer for God’s help and grace, and God’s call for Jeremiah to stand at the gates of the city and reteach them about keeping the Sabbath holy. But here are some other gems/highlights:
5 ¶ Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. [deep roots provide water to the tree even through drought]
10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. [The Lord tests our mettle, not that He needs to know what we are made of, but that we need to know.]
11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. [presumably a partridge caught for food]
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.Jer 18—God is like a potter, totally in charge, but He will change His intentions according to behavior
The Lord sends Jeremiah to a potter’s shop, and likens Himself to the potter, in that He has total power over the pot. And yet, even after He has pronounced bad things for a wicked nation, if they repent, He will change how He treats them. Likewise, if He has promised good things to a nation, but that nation go bad, He will refuse to bless them.
The Lord appeals to Judah & Jerusalem (and to every person) to return from their wicked ways. They say, Our lot is hopeless, so we’re going to rely on our own devices. Rhetorically the Lord asks whether it would make sense for a person to forsake a fresh spring in the mountain, implying that God’s people have forsaken the living waters that spring from Him. Because they have turned from Him, causing people to whistle and shake their heads at His inheritance, the Lord will blow them away. [As in previous instances, the Lord intends to wipe out the old inhabitants and start rebuilding afresh. Examples: the Flood, Abraham, Sodom & Gomorrah, the Canaanites, the Children of Israel wandering for 40 years in the desert until all the older generation had passed away . . . ]
Jeremiah recounts the opposition he has been facing, then prays to the Lord to witness what his enemies say and to remember that he prayed for them, that the Lord would turn away His anger from them [compare Matt 5:11 & 44]. Now he prays that as God has foretold, His will be done, in recompense for the way they have treated His prophet [not merely as a man, but as the mouthpiece of God].
Jer 19—with a pot as a teaching device/visual aid, Jeremiah is sent to prophesy destruction
Jeremiah is to get a pot from the potter, take it and the elders of the people and priests, and go to the valley of the son of Hinnom. There he is to prophesy desolation because of “the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal … Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.” The famine in the siege to come will be so bad that people will eat their own children and friends. Then to punctuate the point, Jeremiah is to break the earthenware bottle in front of his audience. Refer back to Jeremiah 7.
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld’s (1794-1872) depiction of the call of Jeremiah. Jeremiah sees an almond branch and a boiling pot during his commissioning. On the right, two women worship an idol. Public Domain.
The book of Jeremiah has 52 chapters, and his book of Lamentations has 5–thus, it will take me a few posts to cover his writings. Part 1 covers Jeremiah 1-10. For background on Jeremiah, see
Jer 1 Jeremiah called in the 13th year of Josiah, serves through Zedekiah & the Babylonian captivity1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
2 To 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.
3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
I think there’s a strong indication that Jeremiah’s father was a counselor to young King Josiah, the priest spoken of in 2 Kings 22, and a part of the reformation of the kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah seems to have had a position/access to the king’s court. It’s possible that the priest Hilkiah “who was over the household” and “the chief priest” was the (or one of the) influence(s) that made an impact on young Josiah to turn him to God. Remember that the priests/Levites were sent to live among each of the tribes in order to be teachers and civil leaders among them long ago under Moses. King Josiah may have sent his right hand man, the priest Hilkiah, as an overseer in the land of Benjamin. Or, Hilkiah’s ancestors may have been assigned to the land of Benjamin, and his talents may have brought him to the notice of the court so that he might have been called into service there. See various references at
https://biblehub.com/topical/h/hilkiah.htm
Jeremiah served as prophet to the Kingdom of Judah for about 40 years, from the good years of King Josiah, through the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews. He lived beyond that, and continued to counsel those that were left, but they didn’t listen to him either—though he did have some good and loyal friends. It’s no wonder that he wrote Lamentations, after having seen the great reforms of King Josiah, and then the utter wickedness and destruction that followed.
4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7 ¶ But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
The verses above make clear that God had a plan for Jeremiah even before he was born. Jeremiah, as Moses and others before, was overwhelmed with the role God was calling him to play. When he says he is but a child, I don’t think that meant that he was literally a boy like Samuel, though he might have been in his late teens or early 20s (considering he was prophet to the nation/kings for 40 years). What he is expressing is that he doesn’t feel adequate (like Moses at his call) in his speaking abilities. But God reassures him, as He did Moses and Joshua, that He would give him the words to say, and back him up in his assignment. As we will see, that doesn’t mean Jeremiah didn’t have hard things to go through and to suffer, but God would deliver him in the end. Jeremiah would not only pull down the corrupt, he would also build or plant the basis of a better kingdom or kingdoms (consider what his words have meant for God’s true followers since his time, and even now).
In vision God shows Jeremiah an almond branch, probably opening its blossoms, as God says that it represents the quickening of His work. Then God shows him a boiling pot facing the north. God says that it represents bad things to come from the north (probably the pot was boiling over, representing the spread of the ills of conquest over all the Middle Eastern lands). The ruling/military families will come against Jerusalem and all the cities of the kingdom of Judah—and this because of their wickedness and idolatry. God sends Jeremiah out with the warning that if he shows fear, he’ll lose his gift of speaking effectively. God reaffirms His backing with the word picture of protecting Jeremiah like an impenetrable city of defense. He forewarns Jeremiah that he’ll face opposition, but reiterates that He will be with him and deliver him.
Jer 2—Israel has turned from the all powerful God to sticks and stones
God sends Jeremiah out with a message to Jerusalem. He reminds them of their sojourn in the wilderness during the Exodus. It’s a little different picture of Israel than the Torah (5 books of Moses) paints, but I suppose God is referring to the 2nd generation, who had learned to live the Law of Moses (the Law of God). But then God accuses the ancestors of Jeremiah’s contemporaries of turning their backs on Him (as if they had found some fault in Him). God pleads with them, and their descendants. He says that no other nation has switched gods (who aren’t true gods), and yet the Israelites have. It’s astonishing! Poetically, verbally visually, He says, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (note Jesus’ declaration about Living Waters: John 4:4-26, John 7:37-39)
Rhetorically God asks if Israel is a servant (instead of a son). That is, why should he be mistreated? (speaking of the difference between the way servants were treated, vs sons) But the nation of Israel has brought this on themselves. “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.”
God reminds them that He has saved them before, and they have promised not to misbehave (for example the covenants under Hezekiah and Josiah). But here they are again dirtying themselves, and the strongest cleaners can’t wash them clean. Like camels or donkeys they take off to do as they like. Only when they are experiencing their cycle can they be found. They’ve had a taste of infidelity, and they choose their lovers instead of God.
You call rocks and sticks your gods, every city has their own, yet they can’t save you in time of trouble. Why do you come to Me, when you have sinned against Me? You won’t learn from my corrections. You kill the prophets like lions kill those in their paths. You proudly claim to be powerful in and of yourselves, and see no reason to come unto Me. Rhetorically God asks, does a young girl or a bride forget her jewelry or pretty clothes? Yet you have forgotten Me for “days without number.” Your sins are obvious as the blood of the innocent on your clothes. You claim to be innocent, (but I know better). You’ll be ashamed of trying to make Egypt an ally, just as you were shamed in making Assyria an ally (remember when the Israelites invited Assyria into partisanship when Israel & Judah were adversaries, and a few year later when Assyria became a super power they came to rue the day). Your confidence in your policies will not turn out well . . . you’ll be arrested (that is, stopped) and walk forth with your hands on your head.
Jer 3—Israel has played the harlot
In the days of Josiah the king was this condemnation made by God through Jeremiah, early in his calling. Perhaps Jeremiah was an influence for good in the life of Josiah. Jeremiah began to prophesy in the 13th year of Josiah. 2 Chron 34:3 says in the 12th year of his reign he began to purge the land of idolatry. If Jeremiah was not the impetus of the purging, he was surely a supporter of it.
Jeremiah paints a clear picture of the adulterous idolatry of Israel in the form of a parable that they would understand. A divorced wife who had remarried (or, worse yet, not remarried, but involved herself with other man/men) would not be taken back by her 1st husband. That would pollute the man’s inheritance (or the nation’s lands). And yet, though Israel had played the harlot with many false gods, God invites, even pleads, that Israel return to Him and He will welcome the one who had strayed. Look at all the high places (places of idolatrous worship) and consider what false gods with whom Israel hasn’t been untrue! Like a harlot sitting by the road in the Arabian wilderness (where travelers far from home would be tempted), Israel has polluted the land (earned the land a bad rep, for instance). For this reason the rains have been kept back. And yet, Israel has refused to be ashamed of infidelity. (Remember the story of Elijah, for example, how even after his powerful demonstration of the true God over the false—the miraculous lighting of the altar and the bringing of rain after a 3 year drought—yet Elijah mourned in a cave that there was no one that was true to God).
Next the Lord refers to the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah as sisters. For all Israel’s adulteries God divorced Himself from her (“put her away”: the Assyrian captivity). And yet, her sister kingdom, Judah followed her example. “And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly [pretending], saith the Lord.” King Hezekiah, at the time of the Assyrian captivity, brought those that were left of Israel as well as his kingdom of Judah, to covenant with God, recommit themselves to Him. But Hezekiah’s son & heir Manasseh led the people into worse idolatry than ever.
Jeremiah is sent north to plead with the remnants of Israel to return to God and find His promise of mercy. “Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” God promises to bless and prosper Israel. They will no longer look back to their history (being led by the ark of the covenant, as in the Exodus), but to Jerusalem for their leadership. The kingdoms of Israel and of Judah will be reunited, and the captives of Assyria will return to join them. Even Jeremiah is led to ask how this could all happen, but is answered that they will call God their father and not turn away from Him (with God all things are possible).
Jer 4—if the Jews would just turn to God, He would save them from the coming conquest from the North; a hint that God is preparing to create something out of the dust
God promises that if His people will just return to Him, destroy all the idolatrous worship, and swear their allegiance to Him, He will protect them from conquest & captivity. He uses the metaphor of farming: prepare the ground that has been left fallow, rather than plant amongst the weedy brambles. He uses the metaphor of circumcision to represent making their hearts tender/feeling toward God, lest they suffer God’s fury like a fire that can’t be quenched (because of their wicked behavior). God instructs His people to blow a trumpet in the land to gather the people into defensed cities, under the banner of Zion/Jerusalem/the kingdom of Judah. Like a lion, conquest is coming from the north, who will lay waste everything. God will allow such predations because He is angry with the wickedness of His people.
Jeremiah complains to God that surely He has deceived His people, promising peace, when like a powerful whirlwind destruction is coming. God pleads that Jerusalem wash herself from wickedness and rebellions against Him. It is her own doings that have brought all this on. Jeremiah voices his deep distress at the destruction and warfare to come. “For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish [foolish] children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”
Interestingly, Jeremiah refers back to the state of the earth before Creation, “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.” (a premonition of the creation of a new state of Israel/Judah). God details the utter destruction of the land through warfare. He says, No matter what you do to make yourself look attractive to potential “lovers” (allies), they will all despise you. Then Jeremiah uses the metaphor of the pains of a woman giving birth. Such causes one to ponder what is to be created, born, of this clearing away of the debris & deadness of the land—witness the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity and the development of the Jewish state from there.
Jer 5—Israel’s pretensions: they have eyes & ears but don’t see or hear who God really is
A challenge: search high and low for someone that looks for the Truth and brings Justice. If any can be found, God will pardon the people. Their words say they believe, but their behavior belies their words. While God has offered correction, they have been incorrigible. Jeremiah believes that the people have been foolish because they have not been taught. He determines to go to the great men (rulers or elites) of the day, because they are educated. But he finds that they have broken away from the restrictions of the Law. Because of this, like a zoo of predators will destruction come upon the land.
How can they be pardoned? Their children swear by false gods. When God had prospered them, they were faithless to Him and assembled in crowds at the licentious places of idol worship. Like well-fed horses they have “neighed” after their neighbor’s wives.
Destruction is coming (yet not in total) for Israel’s treachery with God. They assure themselves that nothing bad will happen, so their prophets are just windbags. Jeremiah’s words, on the contrary, will be like fire devouring wood. An ancient nation speaking an unknown language will come, and like an open grave their arrows will devour the lives of Israelites. They will eat up the food of the land, and leave the cities impoverished.
When people ask, Why is God doing this to us? Jeremiah is to answer, “Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” They have eyes to see, ears to hear, but neither see nor hear. “Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter [2 rainy seasons, that water the crops], in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest . . . your sins have withholden good things from you.”
Wicked men lay in wait, setting traps and snares to enrich themselves at the expense of others. Like a cageful of birds, their holdings (business dealings) are full of deceit. In their own prosperity they don’t bring justice to the needy poor and the fatherless. The prophets lie, the priests rule through their riches. And the people like things the way they are. What will you do when the consequences follow? What a message for today!
Jer 6—the people will suffer the consequences of their hypocrisy & wickedness
“O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.” See Jeremiah 1:1, and the following explanations of the place mentioned here:
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/jeremiah/6-1.htm
https://www.bibleplaces.com/tekoa/
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/nehemiah/3-5.htm men of Tekoah
https://bibleatlas.org/beth-haccherem.htm map; Beth-hakkerem south of Jerusalem, Tekoa further south
Commentaries offer a better understanding of verses 2-3: “woman” is an insertion not in the Hebrew, and “comely” is often a reference to a pleasant pasture. That lovely pasture is going to be devoured by armies from the north. In verse 6 trees are hewn down, probably for siege engines. It’s a warning (v. 8), because Jerusalem has spouted/gushed wickedness (violence and plundering, no doubt to get gain, like gangster families) like a fountain or a geyser. As in a grape harvest, where the vines are gleaned clean, and the grapes gathered into baskets, Zion will be left fruitless.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/jeremiah/6-2.htm
Jeremiah asks, Who can I speak to and warn? Their ears are insensitive and they don’t listen. They don’t want to hear the Lord’s reproaches. Jeremiah feels angry at them. He’s tired of trying to be tactful & politically correct. He’s going to just lay it all out: not just soldiers, but husbands and wives, old people, everyone will be pillaged. Because everyone, rich or poor, powerful or powerless, is greedy of others’ goods, and even prophets and priests are dishonest/liars. They try to soothe people’s fears by saying there will be peace, but there will be no peace. They are shameless.
The Lord tells Jeremiah to remind the people of the old paths, the good way (the Law of Moses) in which they would find peace (compare Matt 11:28-30), but people are not interested in walking in those ways. The Lord set watchmen over the people to warn them of trouble, but they refused to listen.
References to watchmen: Isa 52, 56, 62; Ezek 33; Jer 31 & 51; 2 Kings 18:8 the watchmen on the tower were to warn their citizens of danger approaching; 1 Sam 16 Saul’s scouts(?) see the bold success of his son Jonathan & armor bearer, and the Israelite army is emboldened to fight for their nation & win).
So the Lord says He will bring the fruit (consequences) of their own thoughts upon them. He says, What’s the point of your fancy, expensive incense from Sheba (used in worship of those days)? All your offerings are worthless to Me [because of their hypocrisy]. Fathers, sons, neighbors, friends will all perish by the hands of conquerors from the north [Mesopotamia]. “They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea [because there are so many of them come shouting in battle]; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.” We’ve heard of their reputation, which strikes trembling fear, anguish, pains like a woman giving birth. Nobody dares go out to the fields or the roads. “O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.”
The Lord tells Jeremiah that he is set as a tower (like a watchtower, to give warning), and a fortress (a defense against destruction). Jeremiah is to know what they are like, and test them to see what they are truly made of. But God knows they are grievous rebels, companions of slanderers, hard as brass/iron, corrupters. Jeremiah, like a foundry worker tries to purify metal, yet the impurities/the wicked continue. The Lord will toss them out as silver that can’t be purified.
Jer 7—what God told Jeremiah to tell the people as they entered the Temple gate
The Lord tells Jeremiah to stand at the gate of the Temple and proclaim His word: Amend your ways and [God] will cause you to be able to continue living here. Don’t trust in lying promises that the Lord will not destroy this place because of His temple. Execute Justice in the court system. Don’t oppress foreigners, the fatherless, and the widow [those without protectors or recourse]. Don’t shed innocent blood. Don’t follow/worship other gods. Then [God] promises this land to you forever, as He did your ancestors.
But you trust in lies that can’t profit you. Do you think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, commit perjury and the like, burn incense to Baal and other gods you don’t know, and then come and stand here in the Temple thinking you can get away with all that? “Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?” (No doubt Jesus was referencing this when He said, “ye have made it a den of thieves.” Matt 21:13) Just go check on Shiloh, where God’s tabernacle was at first, and see what He did to it because of the wickedness of the northern kingdom of Israel. Because you have likewise polluted this Temple, while “I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not . . . ,” God will do the same here, where you trust you are safe because of the promises He made to your forebearers.
The Lord tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people, nor try to intercede for them. He refuses to hear. He asks Jeremiah, Do you see what they do in Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? The kids gather wood, the fathers build a fire, and the women make bread/cakes for the “queen of heaven” (a false god), and they pour out drink offerings to other gods. Are they provoking Me, or causing confusion to their own faces?
The Lord says that when He brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt He didn’t ask for burnt offerings [at first], “But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.” (Remember what Samuel said to Saul, “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” 1 Sam 15:22. The burnt offerings were to keep reminding the people of God and their covenant with Him, they were not the ends, but the means. They didn’t listen, but walked in their own imaginations and ideas. They went backward instead of forward (instead of progressing to a higher law, they were given the Law of Moses, a schoolmaster, to bring them to God. See Gal 3:24 etc). “Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.”
The Lord tells Jeremiah to tell the people all these things (at the Temple gate, as they enter to “worship”), but He says they will not listen. Jeremiah can call to them, but they won’t answer him. The Lord says, “But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.” Jeremiah writes of mourning and lamenting ritual of cutting off one’s hair, because the people of Jerusalem and the cities of Judah have done such evil, even polluting the Temple, and sacrificing their children in Tophet, in the valley of the son of Hinnom. One day that place will be called the valley of slaughter. They will run out of place to bury people, and the corpses will be eaten by beasts and birds. There will no longer be happy songs and glad voices of brides and grooms in Jerusalem and the cities of Judah: the land will be desolate.
Jer 8—things will get so bad that people would rather die than live
Jeremiah, speaking for the Lord, predicts that the bones of the kings, princes, priests, prophets (all of Judah), and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves and spread before the altars of the sun, moon, and other gods the people have served/worshipped to show the bones disrespect. “And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the Lord of hosts.” Presumably the conquerors are the “they” that would do the disrespecting, and the inhabitants of Judah & Jerusalem are ”they” that will wish they were dead.
And will the people then return to God and acknowledge their wrongs, asking/exclaiming to themselves, “What have I done?” No, they continue in their deceipt and refuse to come back to God. Though the creatures of the earth instinctively know their seasons, God’s people don’t recognize His judgments. How can they say they are wise and keep the Law of the Lord, and yet they are ashamed of Him, His words, and His ways.
Therefore, their wives and lands will be given to others (conquerors). Everyone from the least to the most powerful is covetous, the prophets and priests are dishonest. They try to soothe people by claiming “Peace…when there is no peace.” Are they ashamed of their abominations [such as sacrificing their children to false gods]? No. For that, their grape & fig harvests will be consumed [by the conquerors, or by Nature]. Why do we just sit here? We ought to get into (hide in) the walled cities and sit in silence for God has given us over to the consequences of our sins. We hoped for peace, and for health, but nothing came but troubles. We heard only the sounds of war horses as they advanced from the north, and the land is devoured by the conquerors. Like snakes and cockatrices [mythical or uncertain creatures], they won’t be charmed, but bite you. (“charmed, or charming” now has such a mild meaning, like a charming personality. But think in terms of snake charmers who don’t succeed, and get bit by a poisonous snake!)
Verses 18 to the end seem to be the lament of Jeremiah for his people, and their conquest by armies from a far away land. Where is God? They have provoked Him to anger with their idolatry (so He wants nothing to do with them). “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved . . . Is there no balm [medicine] in Gilead [a proverbial place of healing]; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”
Jer 9—Jeremiah, and the Lord, lament for the wickedness of the people
“Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” Jeremiah wishes he had a lodge to stay, away from his iniquitous people, whose lying tongues are like bows (shooting deadly arrows), and they go from one evil to the next. Even brothers and neighbors can’t be trusted. They are all deceptive, speaking peacefully with their tongues, but in their hearts are setting traps for their neighbors.
God claims vengeance on the people for their iniquities. But God’s vengeance is not the same as human vengeance. God requires Justice (even while He sorrows for the people), while humans just want to delight in making people suffer. God weeps for the destruction of the land. “Who is the wise man, that may understand this?” The destruction of the land is a consequence of the people forsaking God’s laws. Not only the land will be destroyed, the people will be scattered among unbelieving nations. The women are invited to mourn for the land and the people. Not only Judah, but Egypt, Edom, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all that dwell in the region will be conquered for their iniquities.
23 ¶ Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.Jer 10—worshipping idols made by men is ludicrous; God is the true & living God, all powerful, Creator
“Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel . . .” Don’t fall for horoscopes, nor images made of wood & covered with silver or gold. They can’t speak or move on their own, nor can they do either good or evil. They are just foolish and vain. Compare contemporary veneration of crystals and the like.
In contrast, the Lord has true power. He is the true God, everlasting and living. He created the heavens and earth, and He can destroy all. He has not only the power, but the intelligence/wisdom as the Creator, who formed all.
Yet the Lord laments, and is grieved for the destruction of His people. Reference is made to the tabernacle of Exodus. Jeremiah humbly pleads for God’s correction for himself, but not to be destroyed. He pleads that those who have destroyed God’s people, and who have not believed in Him, be the objects of His anger.
“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”
Isa 1—the Lord’s complaint & plea
“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.”
The language of this chapter, like much of Isaiah’s writing, is so striking that it begs to be read in full. I will try here to summarize without destroying it.
Isaiah invokes images from parenting, husbandry, healthcare, history (Sodom & Gomorrah), textiles, harlotry, metallurgical refining. He references the oaks & gardens wherein they have committed idolatry. Some of my favorite verses:
“Why should ye be stricken any more? . . . [Why keep suffering? What’s the point of your religious observances? Don’t bother me with them, I’m sick of them, I won’t pay any attention to them.] . . .
16 ¶ Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge [bring justice to] the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet [think in terms of the stain caused by red Jello], they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts [bribes], and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless [don’t bring justice to the orphaned], neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment [Justice], and her converts with righteousness.Isa 2—about Judah & Jerusalem, the future mountain of Lord’s house vs current wickedness & pride2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. [Note how Judeo-Christian teachings & morality have spread from the Jews to the world.]
4 And he [God] shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [They will stop spending their resources on war and destructive doings, and turn them to positive, productive pursuits.]
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The Lord has withdrawn His help & blessings from the descendants of Jacob/Israel because they seek fulfillment in the false philosophies, pretenders to prophecy, and partnering with pagan nations. Israel is wealthy and full of expensive vehicles. They worship their own works. They are arrogant. But they will be humbled and seek to hide from the Lord and his judgments. A description & message for US today. “For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low . . . In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Quit relying on human means, for of what use are they?
3—The Lord has withdrawn His help because of the oppressions in Jerusalem & Judah
This chapter is another beautifully expressed word of the Lord. I will try to summarize it, but I hope all will read it as it is in the Bible.
The Lord takes away the stores of food and water that a besieged city would rely on, as well as the leaders, both military and civil. Instead, they’ll be ruled by the young and/or inept without wisdom. The people will oppress (take advantage of) one another. The traditional order of society will be upended. Then relatives will come to the most solidly based of their kin and try to get them/him to take the leadership role, but he/they refuse that responsibility because it would be such a heavy burden. In many cultures a tribal leader is responsible for the well-being of the tribe/extended family in every way—see that they have food, financial support, safety, etc. “For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.”
Instead of men taking responsible, leadership roles (in the family, in the nation), “children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” Sounds like the nightly news in our nation today!
The Lord pleads (Heb. contends) and judges the people: the elders (traditional leaders of a certain standing and age) and those born to leadership roles, instead of caring for the welfare of the people, have taken advantage of the poor and powerless for their own benefit. “What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.”
Additionally, women are haughty, walking that certain provocative walk in their showy apparel. The day will come that their hair (a symbol of beauty) will be replaced with sores, and their private parts will also be affected (not all translations include that last part, see https://biblehub.com/isaiah/3-17.htm ). All their fancy dress, jewelry, and perfumes will be taken away, and their beauty will be replaced with mere lust.
The men of Judah & Jerusalem will fall in battle, and Judah/Jerusalem will be left emotionally as well as physically desolate.
Isa 4—those left after the war will become righteous, and the Lord will protect them
Because of the shortage of men (killed in war), 7 women will offer to be self-supporting, if they can just have the name (come under the social protection/standing) of one man. Those that escape the terrible consequences of war will prosper, and the land healed. Those that are left will turn their lives to holiness (living righteous lives). The Lord will have cleansed the wicked from His people. Isaiah refers back to the time of the Exodus when the Lord led and defended Israel with a cloud by day and fire by night. The Tabernacle was symbolic of a shelter from intense weather (troubles).
5—A song of the vineyard, Woe to the wicked, & captivity comes through lack of knowledge of the Lord1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
Consequentially, the vineyard is to be destroyed. Isaiah pronounces woe to those who monopolize real estate: their lands will be unproductive. Woe to partiers who spend their days drunk, feasting to the tune of music (only the wealthy could afford to have musicians at their parties), ignoring the Lord. Hell will gorge itself on the proud, the wealthy & powerful will be humbled. Woe to those who promote wickedness, and taunt Let the Lord show Himself and we’ll believe Him. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Woe to those who think they are wise/prudent. Woe to those who corrupt justice for bribes. The Lord is angry, and letting them be destroyed like a wildfire in a field.
But the Lord promises that when Israel is cleansed and He is appreciated for his Justice and Holiness, Righteousness the wasted land will once again support flocks of sheep. The Lord will metaphorically raise a invitational banner and whistle (hiss) to the world (as a dog owner whistles for a pet to come), and the nations of the world will come quickly. Their transportation will be so rapid that people won’t have to sleep—indicating jet flight. The weapons he depicts might be symbols of modern warfare, described as best an ancient could portray a vision of the future, modern life: the speed, the noise, the smoke of battles.
This chapter is so beautifully written it’s a shame not to read it directly. Here’s one of many favorite verses: “Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.” As Jesus said, the Truth makes us free. People are hungry and thirsting for Truth and Righteousness.
6—the year of King Uzziah’s death Isaiah sees a vision, and is called by the Lord, “Whom shall I send?”
In his vision, Isaiah sees the Lord in His heavenly Temple with symbolically winged seraphim/angels at His throne. Isaiah recognizes his own unworthiness, and that of his people. One of the seraphim symbolically refines him with a live coal from the fire on the sacrificial altar. He hears the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and Isaiah volunteers himself. The Lord tells him to go tell the people that they hear but don’t understand, they see but don’t apprehend. Their hearts are fat (full of self-gratification, instead of lean and strong; the Hebrew means “calloused”), their ears deaf (Hebrew), their eyes closed. In other words, Isaiah’s teachings will be commonly known but people will quit listening to him. The way this is put is only a manner of speaking. It’s not Isaiah who will make their hearts calloused, and so forth, but the people themselves. The Lord is letting Isaiah know in advance that his contemporaries will ignore the truths he brings, rather than see, hear, understand in their hearts, and convert their lives to be healed (as individual souls and as a nation). This understanding and conversion won’t happen until after the nation is destroyed, the people carried away captive, and only a tenth of them return. (Note the change in the people under leadership of Ezra & Nehemiah).
See https://biblehub.com/isaiah/6-10.htm
Isa 7 Isaiah’s (the Lord’s) message to Ahaz when the kings of Israel & Syria threatened
“And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.” (King Ahaz: 2 Kings 16:1-20, 2 Chron 28:1-27)
The kingdom of Judah is shaking with fear like windblown leaves. The Lord sends Isaiah and his son to King Ahaz to calm his fears. “Don’t worry about these two enemies who are plotting to set up a puppet king in your place. It’s not going to happen. And within 65 years the kingdom of Ephraim (the northern kingdom of Israel) will be wiped out. Just ask for a whatever sign you want to prove this is God talking.”
Ahaz won’t ask for a sign, in what appears an appreciation for God: “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.” But Isaiah’s reply sheds a different light on the heart of Ahaz. “Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?” It’s bad enough to weary Isaiah, it’s worse to weary the Lord.
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Verse 14 is quoted in the context of the Messiah, meaning Jesus Christ. There can be more than one fulfillment of a prophecy. But the following verses seem clear that this is a prophecy of the coming Assyrian conquest (see v. 17). In this case I don’t think the virgin birth means a miraculous conception, only that the young woman was a virgin before conceiving, that is, it’s her firstborn child.
I think a better word for “hiss” would be “whistle”, as a dog owner whistles for his pet to come (see v. 18). The Lord will summon Egypt (symbolized by a fly, harking back to the Exodus experience—the flood cycle of the Nile as well as the wet conditions of the delta no doubt bred flies), and likewise He will summon Assyria (symbolized by a bee). The Assyrian conquest is likened to a man being shaved entirely (Assyria the razor) . . . which would be seen not only as utter conquest, but also as a great shaming (remember the case of King David’s emissaries who were disrespected by shaving). The Lord through Isaiah speaks of a man with a cow and two sheep (a poor farmer) with plenty of milk, eating butter & honey (symbols of plenty). In other words, the wealthy will be killed and carried away, leaving the poor to prosper. The huge vineyards will be destroyed and will be full of weeds. Those that are left in the land after the invasion (armies with bows & arrows) will dig out the weedy brush (briers & thorns) to pasture their animals on the hills. A mattock being a digging tool.
Isa 8—Isaiah has two scribes write his testimony & prophecies; alliance with God vs nations
The Lord instructs Isaiah to get a large scroll and write. So he gets two good men to record the Lord’s words, Uriah the priest and Zechariah. Isaiah fathers a child with a prophetess (perhaps alluding to the virgin in the preceding chapter). Before the child learns to speak, both Damascus (the Syrian capital) and Samaria (the northern Israelite capital) will be conquered by Assyria. The conquest is likened to a flooding river, alluding to Assyria of Mesopotamia . . . a land between the Tigris & Euphrates. Assyria will reach even to the neck of Judah, the gates of Jerusalem. Like a bird of prey glides on huge wings, so Assyria will overshadow the land.
The alliances the nations try to forge to protect themselves from the Assyrian conquest will be broken up. Only God can save His people. The Lord powerfully impresses upon Isaiah that he should not go along with all those who say Judah should ally itself with other nations. Rather, Judah should turn to God as their Savior. Don’t be afraid of conquering armies, instead “fear” the Lord. For those who listen and turn to Him, He will be a sanctuary. Unfortunately, for the preponderance of both Israel & Judah, He is a stone to stumble over and to be affronted by. (Note Isaiah’s poetic parallelism in the stone and the rock). To the majority of the people of Jerusalem God is like a trap in which they are snared. It’s both a sorrow and a warning to us today, that they were faithless & foolish, and let us not be so.
Like the binding up of a scroll so it doesn’t unroll, so let the testimony of God and His law be bound in the hearts of those who study God’s law and follow it/Him. Isaiah promises he will look to the Lord and wait for Him as a defense, while the rest of the descendants of Jacob can’t see Him at work. Isaiah and his children symbolize what God is up to. When people say, Get advice from various soothsayers, shouldn’t people go to God for advice, and for the living to hear from the dead? The dead “speak” to us through the scriptures: the Law and the Testimony. Anyone who says differently is not enlightened.
Isaiah prophesies of the coming troubles, people wandering hungry and angry at their king and their God. Truly dark days. See https://biblehub.com/isaiah/8-21.htm (scroll to the bottom for the Hebrew & translation).
Isa 9—Ahaz is king of Judah, Pekah king of Israel, Rezin king of Syria, and Philistines invaded—see 2 Kings 16:1-20 and 2 Chron 28:1-27)
This is a difficult chapter with problematic verses. We can only take what we can from it, and trust that at some point we will come to understand. Verse 1 refers to trouble brought to northern Israel by Ben-Hadad of Syria (1 kings 15:20), and then Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria (2 Kings 15:29). Whether it means the coming afflictions will be worse (not so lightly vexed as before), or whether that darkness will be dispelled is hard to tell. It is apparent that scholars have wrestled with verse 3 as well. But the verses that follow offer hope for the future. For commentary and translation help see
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-1.htm verse 1
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-3.htm verse 3
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-4.htm verse 4
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-5.htm verse 5
Consider these pairings in light of the Hebrew poetic device of chiasmus
v 1 dimness, affliction (war)
v 19 land is darkened through wrath of the Lord
v 2-3 light shines & joy
v 6-7 promise of Hope—a Messiah
v 5 battles heretofore are full of confusion, noise, garments rolled in blood, but in future burning/fire
v 18-19 wickedness burns like fire, people as fuel for fire
vs 20-21 the afflictions of war
Between those verses:
Verses 8-12 Israel thinks to rebuild, but the Syrians on one side, the Philistines on the other will devour them/their resources
Verses 13-17 people refuse to repent, so the Lord will not have mercy on them
Taken as a whole, it seems to me that the message of this chapter is that though Israel had been afflicted before, it will be even worse now. The Lord speaks of the pride, the refusal to repent, the lying leaders, the hypocrisy, the evil doings, the foolish wisdom of Israel. Manasseh & Ephraim (Manasseh east of the Jordan River & Sea of Galilee, Ephraim on the west side, both belonging to the Israelite kingdom) against Judah. See Isa 7 and following.
Favorite verses:
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.Isa 10—woe to unrighteous (who will you turn to?), and Assyria’s pride & punishment
Woe to those lawmakers that write grievous laws. “To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!” Who are you going to turn to for help when troubles come? (i.e. war, particularly the Assyrian invasion) Where will you hide your wealth/treasures?
The Lord will send Assyria as a punitive rod against Israel, an hypocritical nation. Of course, Assyria thinks it’s through his own might and wisdom that he conquers all these nations. He compares the cities and gods he has already conquered to those he intends likewise to crush. But when the Lord is done with punishing His people and surrounding nations, he will punish the pride of Assyria.
13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people [changed the national boundaries], and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing [as a hen would try to protect her offspring], or opened the mouth, or peeped.
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh [uses] it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. [as if a tool boasts in itself, rather than recognizing that it is nothing without the person using it]
After Assyria has been punished, a remnant of Israel (the House of Jacob), those that have escaped Assyria (perhaps by fleeing to Jerusalem) will quit relying on their enemy, and rely instead on “the Lord, the Holy One of Israel” with integrity. Remember that it was a king of Israel that invited Assyria into his foreign policy. Although Israel was numerous before its conquest, there will yet be a remnant that will return.
The Lord enjoins Jerusalem (Zion) not to be afraid of Assyria. He refers to when the Children of Israel were oppressed by Egypt but the Lord broke that yoke off them, and the victory the Lord gave Gideon against the Midianites. There’s a list of the cities Assyria has conquered, but he’ll be stopped at Nob, shaking his fist (threatening) Jerusalem. Then the Lord will cut him down like a forest is clear cut.
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