Devotional
Commentary on Jeremiah 11
The
Lord spoke to Jeremiah again and cited the book of Moses, namely, Deuteronomy,
since He gave many laws, rules, curses and blessings in this book. He wanted
Jeremiah to tell the people to listen to the word of the covenant of
Deuteronomy. Jeremiah used the word covenant (11:2) because law in Deuteronomy
27 is called covenant by God in chapter 28:1. So what is God doing in His
citation from Moses? He paraphrases and substitute law (Torah) (Deuteronomy 27:
26) with covenant (berith) in Jeremiah 11:3. “Cursed is the man who does not
heed/listen to the words of this covenant”. The laws of Moses all stands under
the umbrella of the covenant and it is material whether God is talking of the
law or the covenant since both are intertwined. Another difference is that with
Moses God said that the people should “stand” in the law and here that they
should “listen” to the covenant. In each case, stand and listen and do are all
three the same.
God
used the Book of Moses Deuteronomy and cite from three places (Deuteronomy
4:20) and (Deuteronomy 11:27) and elsewhere to string together a synopsis as to
what He said anyway to Moses all the way through. God is entitled to summarize
His own words. He said that He wants to remind them that He led them out of Egypt
which is a firing furnace (verse 4). The bottom-line cited here by God does not
change the message in Deuteronomy at all. It is the same.
The
socalled Septuagint is a corrupt text and the translator paraphrase by jumping
over the Hebrew to omit some Hebrew words. The phrase “according to all that I
will command you” is changed in the Greek to “do all things which I commanded
you” (verse 4). The survived text of the Greek dates to the days shortly after
Constantine who instructed Eusebius to produce with haste 50 copies of the
Bible in Greek. How hasty can you be? Now we know.
It
is not only doing all things God commanded you (Greek) but as Jeremiah wrote: “according
to all God commanded” because God has particular ways that He wants things. The
Lord is talking about establishing an oath (not my oath) as the late Byzantine
time Greek Septuagint translated wrongly) but an oath, that He swore unto the
forefathers to give them a land that is overflowing with honey and milk. This
land is an elusive promise. It slips away from them and is delayed since it is
really heaven. It is Eden restored or recreated at the Eschaton. Hebrews 11:10
says that Abraham was looking forward to see this land but he did not, for it
is not a city built by God. When Jeremiah heard the Lord spoke like this, he
said what Abraham would say: “Amen, O Lord”. Let it be. Let this heavenly
Jerusalem that You would build, let it come down now. Because of sin, it is
elusive.
The
Lord gave Jeremiah then the task of speaking to the people in the cities of
Judah and Jerusalem saying : “Hear the words of this covenant and do them”
(verse 6).
The
Book of Deuteronomy contained the full aspects expected in the covenant. They
are to listen to it and do them. Hearing includes for God the aspect of doing.
There are many people coming to church to wash their souls but they return not
doing what they heard. This is the problem here with the remnant in Jeremiah’s
day. The Lord warned the forefathers of the remnant in Jeremiah’s day about the
consequences when they do not keep the covenant. He warned them “at early
morning”, until the day of Jeremiah, saying that they listen to His voice
(verse 7).
God
has to beg their interest since they are deceived and involved in things other than
spiritual things pertaining to God and His revelation to them. They had Moses
and Deuteronomy, heard it regularly but did not do it or keep it. “They went,
each man according to the view of his evil heart” (verse 8).
Doing
God’s will is not a case of been hyped up into emotional and psychological
propaganda and now you just want to do regardless. Any religion that has just
1% or 10% of this ingredient, is wrong. God’s worship or no-worship is totally
free. If you claim you follow Him but do not do then He will do what is said in
the covenant expected to do.
The
Lord then spoke to Jeremiah about a conspiracy that is among the remnant in
Judah and Jerusalem (verse 9). The same iniquities that their forefathers found
attractive and that have deceived them, also are attractive for the remnant of
Jeremiah’s day. “They follow after other gods to worship them” (verse 10). They
broke the covenant that was made with the forefathers.
God
then explained the punishment that He is weighing out for them. Evil will come upon
them and they will be unable to escape (verse 11). Is this bad of God to bring
disaster upon His people? No. In fact, He announce beforehand He is going to do
it and furthermore, He shows them why He is doing it and finally asked them to
avoid this situation by turning back. This is very normal that any teacher do
to his student or father to his child.
The
stupidity of the remnant is that they will go during this disaster and run to
their gods to whom they burn incense to help them at the time of their
misfortune (verse 12). Numerous were their gods and numerous the altars to burn
for Baal incense and for the shameful thing (verse 13).
Then
the Lord asked Jeremiah not to pray for these people: “and you, do not pray for
this people” (verse 14). The Lord is not going to listen to them when they cry,
it is too late. The Lord is not going to listen to them when they cry, it is
too late.
The
Lord then addresses the remnant with the word “My beloved” which is the same
term that is used by God in Isaiah 5:1 in the Song of the Vineyard. Jeremiah is
thinking of the content of Isaiah 5:1 because it deals with the Investigative
Judgment followed by the Executive Judgment concerning His remnant that He was
hoping would bear fruit but did not. The Eschaton or hell was the final future
for those who did not reach the standard expected.
God
then asked what His beloved remnant has to do in His place of worship because
they perform many evil designs. “The holy flesh they removed from you”
(remnant) and as a result of this, of this evil, the good turned bad remnant
rejoice! (verse 15). What irony. Just like the beloved remnant of Isaiah 5 who
was called a vineyard, so here in Jeremiah the beloved remnant is called “a
leafy olive-tree fair with goodly fruit” by the Lord (verse 16). This now will
receive the Executive Judgment that to the sound of a great tumult, He kindled
a fire upon it in the Eschaton and they have broken its branches (verse 16). “And
the Lord of Hosts Who planted you spoke evil concerning you, about the evil of
the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they did to them to provoke
Me, to burn sacrifices to Baal.” This whole section should be placed side by
side with Isaiah 5:1-12 since it deals with the same theme.
In
vision the Lord showed Jeremiah their deeds: “And the Lord let me know, and I
knew, then You showed me their deeds” (verse 18). This is a very difficult
sentence. It seems as if Jeremiah was busy talking to his scribe Baruch and
then talking directly to the Lord at the same time. The sentence “then You
showed me their deeds” is in the original Hebrew but the corrupt text of the
Greek Jeremiah that survived in the Byzantine copies of Constantine and
Eusebius took shortcuts and just read “then I knew their deeds.” Finding a
number of degenerative manuscripts of Jeremiah at Qumran will not help to prop
up the Byzantine Greek text over against the original Hebrew.
Cross-contamination from the caves to the church is the case here.
Jeremiah
then cites a passage that sounds very Messianic from Isaiah 53:7, the lamb led
to be slaughtered. Christ was to be slaughtered this way but Jeremiah thought
he is dealt with in the same way the coming Messiah will be dealt with. The
wanted to destroy his food and wood and killed him (verse 19). The corrupt
Greek so-called Septuagint read only “from the living” but the original says “land
of the living”.
What
Jeremiah is abiding with in his heart, is the fact that the Lord is a just
Judge (verse 20). He started to pray that he could see the vengeance against
him. When he became aware of this problem, he ran to the Lord for solution : ”to
You I have revealed my cause.” Punishment is meted out by the Lord for the men
of Anathoth: Because they said to Jeremiah that he should not prophecy in the
name of the Lord otherwise they will kill him (verse 21), therefore so said the
Lord of Hosts that He will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword
and the daughters through hunger (verse 22). There shall be no remnant and the
Lord shall brought disaster to the men of Anathoth in the year of their
remembrance.
The
year of their remembrance may be the coming of the Babylonian disaster but
could also go beyond that to the time of the Eschaton.
Dear
Lord
When
we see Your beloved remnant failing to keep Your covenant both in the Exodus as
well as in Isaiah and in the time of Jeremiah, we ask ourselves how we are
doing. Help us in our situation. Amen