What I Noticed Today (Jeremiah 10-13)
Jeremiah 10
In verses 10-16, Jeremiah addresses the whole house of Israel (all the tribes) describing the nature of God and the foolishness of their worship of idols.
In verses 1-5, Israel is commanded not to follow in the idolatry of foreign nations. These idols are made out of wood and metals, they have to be carried about, and are as lifeless as a scarecrow.
In verses 6-16, Jeremiah says there is no one like the Lord. Idols are worthless images made of wood or metal, but the Lord is true, the creator of all things.
Note: verse 11 is the only verse in the book of Jeremiah written in Aramaic, and directed to the pagans in the area who believed in false gods and did not know the Lord.
In verses 17-22, Jeremiah moves on to discuss the coming judgment on the people of Judah and their exile. The people will gather up their belongings and be carried into captivity (by the Babylonians).
In verses 23-25, Jeremiah concludes this temple address by praying to the Lord. A person’s life, he says, is not his own. Though he may direct his own steps, only those who walk according to God’s ways are blessed. He concludes by asking God to pour out His wrath on those who had destroyed the people of Judah.
Jeremiah 11-12
Jeremiah 11-12 jumps backward in time from Jeremiah 7-10 about 17 years to approximately 621 B.C. These chapters contain Jeremiah’s fourth message and are focused on how Judah had broken their covenant with God.
Jeremiah 11
In verses 1-5, God tells Jeremiah to listen and report to the people of Judah the covenant established between the people and God when He brought them out of Egypt. The covenant was a promise that God made to bring the people to the Promised Land IF they did all that He commanded them.
In verses 6-8, Jeremiah reminds the people how God had warned them, but they did not obey. They were stubborn and rebellious.
In verses 9-13, King Josiah had forced the people to conform to God’s Laws, but after he had died, they returned to the sins of their forefathers to serve other gods. Therefore, God promised to bring judgment upon them and would not listen to their pleas.
In verses 14-17, God again tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people because the Lord had determined to judge them for the evil they had done in making sacrifices to Baal.
In verses 18-23, the people who oppose Jeremiah set out to kill him. The men who plotted against Jeremiah were from Anathoth, his hometown. Jeremiah asked God to take out His vengeance upon them, and God promised that they would be punished for their actions against Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 12
In verses 1-4, Jeremiah inquires of the Lord asking why the wicked remained prosperous, especially since God was angry with them for their sin.
In verses 5-6, the Lord answers Jeremiah’s question. The metaphor is difficult to interpret. If the “runners” are false prophets who the Lord did not send, how could Jeremiah expect to compete with horses (the horses of the Babylonian army)?
In verses 7-13, God resumes his pronouncement of judgment that began in Jeremiah 11. God refers to my house, my heritage, and my soul as He describes how the people had abandoned Him. The devastation that would come was like flocks trampling a vineyard; what was once productive would lie in ruins.
In verses 14-17, Jeremiah concludes his fourth message by relating God’s promise that the wicked nations who had come against Judah would also be defeated and scattered and the people of Judah would eventually be restored to their land.
Jeremiah 13
Jeremiah 13 jumps forward in time from Jeremiah 12 about 22 years to approximately 598 B.C.
In verses 1-11, God uses a symbolic act with Jeremiah in hopes of getting the people to pay attention. Jeremiah was to buy a linen loincloth (undergarment) and wear it around his waist but not to let water touch it. After several days of wearing the loincloth, God instructed Jeremiah to place the loincloth in a rock crevice. Again, after several days, God instructed Jeremiah to remove the loincloth from the rocks, and he found it was ruined.
Note: Most translations say that Jeremiah took the loincloth to the Euphrates (vv. 4-5). Some translations say Jeremiah took the loincloth to Parath. The Euphrates would have been about a 700-mile round trip. The Hebrew word for “Euphrates” is Parath. There is also a small place near Anathoth named Parath.
God’s interpretation of this (vv. 8-11) is judgment will come on the wicked people who refuse to listen to God. The loincloth represents Israel and Judah. As long as they remained wrapped around God they were to be praised, but when the loincloth was removed and placed in the rocks, it became useless, just like the people of Israel and Judah when they rejected God.
In verses 12-14, Jeremiah used a parable of wine jars to describe how wine jars should be filled with wine, but the people were like empty wine jars, so God would judge them and destroy them by smashing them against each other.
In verses 15-17, Jeremiah warns the judgment is coming, and the people should give glory to God. If they do not, their stubborn pride will be the end of them.
In verses 18-19, Jeremiah addressed the king and queen directly (Jehoiachin and Nehushta) exhorting them to lead the people by humbling themselves before the judgment began and all Judah was carried away to exile by the Babylonians.
In verses 20-27, Jeremiah exhorted the people to look to the north to see the approaching armies. Their pain would be like a woman in labor. They would ask why this was happening, and God let them know it was because of their sins against Him. They would be scattered in every direction because they had trusted in false gods and other nations would see and know about Judah’s detestable acts.
Tomorrow: Jeremiah 14-17
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
