Jeremiah · chapter 23 of 52
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Jeremiah 23 denounces the shepherds who scatter the flock and promises that the Lord himself will gather it and raise up for David a righteous Branch, a king who will reign wisely and be called The Lord is our righteousness. The second half condemns the false prophets who speak dreams of their own hearts, and establishes that the word of the Lord is like fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock.
Jeremiah 23 follows the judgment of the kings in the previous chapter, now under the image of shepherds, and completes it with one of the most hopeful prophecies in the book. The promise of the righteous Branch of David is a key text for messianic hope. The final part deals with false prophets, a theme that runs through the book and that is lit up by contrast with the true word.
The Lord pronounces woe on the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of his pasture. Because they have not attended to them, he will attend to them for the evil of their deeds. He himself will gather the remnant of his flock out of all the lands where he has driven them, bring them back to their fold, and they will be fruitful and multiply. He will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they will fear no more nor be dismayed.
Days are coming when the Lord will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a king who will reign wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely, and this is the name by which he will be called: The Lord is our righteousness.
The second part concerns the prophets. Jeremiah's heart is broken and all his bones shake because of the wickedness of prophets and priests, even in the house of the Lord. The prophets of Samaria prophesied by Baal, and those of Jerusalem commit adultery, walk in lies and strengthen the hands of evildoers. God says not to listen to the words of the prophets who fill them with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord, and promise peace to those who despise him.
The Lord says he did not send them; had they stood in his council, they would have proclaimed his words to his people. Am I a God at hand, and not a God far away? Do I not fill heaven and earth? What has straw in common with wheat? Is not my word like fire, like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? The last verses forbid saying the burden of the Lord, because the burden is each man's own word, and those who twisted the words of the living God will receive everlasting reproach.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord himself will gather the remnant of his flock and set shepherds over them who will care for them, so that they fear no more. God does not abandon his flock even when the shepherds have failed.
A righteous Branch will come from David, a king who will reign wisely and be called The Lord is our righteousness. Christians see in this promise Jesus Christ, descendant of David, in whom God's righteousness is found.
The Lord asks whether anyone can hide from him in secret places, since he fills heaven and earth. The false prophets acted as if God did not see them; the text affirms that his gaze takes in everything.
The word of the Lord is like fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock. The true word has power to consume what is false and break what is hard, unlike the powerless dreams the false prophets told.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: He will gather it from all the lands, bring it back to its fold and give it shepherds who will care for it. — Jeremiah 23:3-4
Answer: A righteous Branch, a king who will reign wisely. — Jeremiah 23:5
Answer: The Lord is our righteousness. — Jeremiah 23:6
Answer: From visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. — Jeremiah 23:16
Answer: Whether he is a God at hand only and not far away, and whether he does not fill heaven and earth. — Jeremiah 23:23-24
Answer: Fire, and a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. — Jeremiah 23:29
The promise of the Branch reminds us that the hope of God's people does not rest on human leaders but on the King God himself sends. For Christians, that leads to Jesus. A group can give thanks that the true Shepherd cares for the flock even when earthly leaders fail.
The second part calls for discernment. Today messages abound that promise peace without a call to obedience. A good habit is to compare what we hear with Scripture, ask whether it exalts God or merely pleases the listener, and remember that God's word can be uncomfortable before it heals.
Jeremiah 23 ends with the warning not to play with God's words. Chapter 24 moves from words to a vision: two baskets of figs before the temple, one very good and one very bad, speaking of the fate of the exiles and of those who remained.
He is a future king of David's line who will govern with justice. The Christian tradition identifies him with Jesus, and the New Testament presents him as a descendant of David. The name The Lord is our righteousness stresses that justice comes from God.
The text points out that false prophets say what the people want to hear, speak their own dreams, support evildoers and do not call for repentance. The true prophet speaks God's word even when it hurts, and his message leads people to turn from evil.
In Hebrew the same word can mean oracle and burden. The false prophets mocked by asking what the burden of the Lord was, and God answers that the burden is they themselves. He forbids them to use the expression because they were taking it lightly.