Journal Through the Bible: Week 70 Thursday

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Jeremiah 10:19 - 11:23

Chapter 10 ends with Jeremiah's sorrowful prayer. He grieves over the insight he has been given concerning the future of his nation, he prays for forgiveness and mercy for himself, and he petitions God for punishment upon those who dare to touch God's people.

Chapter 11 begins with God's command to Jeremiah to preach once more of Judah's covenant with Him. It ends with God's curse upon the men of Anathoth, where Jeremiah and some of the priests lived (see 1:1), who conspired to kill Jeremiah. Jeremiah asked to be able to witness God's vengeance upon them.

Does God issue any commands?

• God told Jeremiah to tell the men of Judah of the covenant that Israel made with God in the days of the Exodus and remind them of the curses that were to come upon those who did not keep the covenant.
• God told Jeremiah to preach the words of the covenant in the streets of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah and to tell the people to obey the covenant and the commands of the LORD.
• God told Jeremiah to stop praying for the wicked people of Judah because the people would not listen to God because they were happy in their sin so God would not listen to their cries in the day they were taken captive.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised to bring upon Judah the curses that went along with the covenant because they would not repent and return to the agreement they had made with Him.
• God promised to punish the men of Anathoth for their plans to kill Jeremiah. The young men would die by the sword and their children would die from famine.

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• Jeremiah's life was in jeopardy because the religious community did not like his message of repentance and grace. Jesus' life was also constantly in jeopardy for the same reason.

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• If current time mimics the message of Jeremiah, we are told that God's message of a covenant relationship with men is still being proclaimed but it is being ignored and the messengers are hated for preaching it which will ultimately bring about devastation to those who conspire to hurt those messengers.