Jeremiah · chapter 11 of 52
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Jeremiah 11 recalls the covenant the Lord made with Israel when he brought them out of Egypt and charges that Judah broke it by returning to the sins of their fathers. God forbids Jeremiah to pray for the people. Then the prophet learns that the men of his own town, Anathoth, plan to kill him, and the Lord promises to punish them.
Jeremiah 11 opens a new section of the book centered on the covenant and opposition to the prophet. Many commentators relate the words about the covenant to Josiah's reform, which had renewed the commitment to the law. Now the Lord says the people have gone back to unfaithfulness. The chapter also contains the first of Jeremiah's so-called confessions, moments when the prophet speaks with God about his own suffering.
The Lord tells Jeremiah to proclaim the words of this covenant to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: cursed is the man who does not obey the words of the covenant I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of Egypt, from the iron furnace. If they obeyed his voice they would be his people and he their God, and he would give them the land flowing with milk and honey. Jeremiah answers: So be it, Lord.
The Lord says he warned their fathers from the start, but they did not listen or incline their ear. A conspiracy was found among the men of Judah: they turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers and went after other gods. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke the covenant. So he will bring disaster on them that they cannot escape, and when they cry to him he will not listen. Let them cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, though those will not save them: they have as many gods as towns and as many altars as streets in Jerusalem.
God tells Jeremiah not to pray for this people or lift up a cry or prayer for them, for he will not hear. The green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit, will be burned, because the Lord himself planted it but now sets it on fire for the evil done by the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
In verses 18-23 Jeremiah learns that they want to kill him. He was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter and did not know they were plotting against him: let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name be remembered no more. He commits his cause to the Lord, who judges righteously. The men of Anathoth sought his life and told him not to prophesy in the Lord's name or he would die by their hand. God promises to punish them: the young men will die by the sword, their sons by famine, and no remnant will be left.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord recalls that when he brought their fathers out of Egypt he commanded them to obey his voice and do what he ordered, and then they would be his people and he their God. Obedience is the people's answer to the deliverance they have already received.
The people went back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear his words, and went after other gods. Israel and Judah broke the covenant. Today's unfaithfulness repeats that of earlier generations.
Jeremiah compares himself to a gentle lamb led to the slaughter, because he did not know they were plotting against him. Christians often connect this image with Isaiah's suffering servant and with Jesus, though here it refers to the prophet himself.
The prophet commits his cause to the Lord, who judges righteously and tests the heart. When someone is persecuted for telling the truth, he can hand the defense to God instead of taking revenge himself.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of the covenant. — Jeremiah 11:3
Answer: From Egypt, from the iron furnace. — Jeremiah 11:4
Answer: So be it, Lord. — Jeremiah 11:5
Answer: As many gods as towns and as many altars as streets in Jerusalem. — Jeremiah 11:13
Answer: To pray or cry out for this people. — Jeremiah 11:14
Answer: The men of Anathoth, his own townspeople. — Jeremiah 11:21
This chapter reminds us that faith has a covenant dimension: God has already freed us and expects a response of obedience. In a Sunday school class we can reflect on how we live our commitment to God beyond the feelings of the moment. Obedience does not earn salvation; it is the grateful response to a deliverance already received.
The second part shows that serving God can bring opposition from the people closest to us, as it did for Jeremiah in his own town. Leaders who face criticism for speaking truthfully can learn from his example: commit the cause to the Lord, pray honestly and not nurse a grudge.
Jeremiah 11 ends with the threat against the men of Anathoth. In chapter 12 Jeremiah brings one of his hardest questions to God: why does the way of the wicked prosper? And he receives an unexpected answer.
It is the covenant of Sinai, made when God brought Israel out of Egypt, which included the promise to be their God if they obeyed his voice. Some scholars connect it with the book of the law found in Josiah's time, though the text does not say so in those words.
It is a harsh expression indicating that judgment was already decided after years of warnings. The people still would not repent. It does not mean God does not hear prayer in general, but that at that stage intercession would no longer change the course.
Anathoth was the town of Jeremiah and his priestly family. Its inhabitants could not stand his message of judgment and tried to silence him with threats. Chapter 12 suggests that even his family betrayed him.