Jeremiah 50

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Jeremiah 50:1

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

The LORD listens to our complaints, but also wants that we continue to work for Him. For this He also gives the necessary strength. Jeremiah, in response to his complaints, is given a new assignment that centers on the sabbath commandment. He is to go to the public gate – through which kings enter and exit – and also to the other gates (Jeremiah 17:19). Jeremiah has prophesied under five kings and possibly every time another king comes in, he passes his message there.

It may seem at first glance that the verses of this section have a quite different subject from what has been before us in the previous verses. But it is not. Keeping the sabbath day holy, the fourth commandment of the ten commandments of the law, has a special significance. The keeping of the sabbath day means the weekly acknowledgment of the LORD as Creator and Redeemer and is thus a testimony against idols. It guarantees God’s people rest, which the idols cannot give. It is also one of the special features of Israel’s religion because it shows the special covenant relationship that exists between the LORD and them.

The attitude of the people toward the sabbath day reflects the attitude of the people toward the LORD. If for them keeping the sabbath day holy is a joy, it is evidence that their heart is faithful to the LORD. If they do what they please on that day, it makes clear their abandonment of the LORD. The sabbath day is the great touchstone that God presents to the people, by which they can show that they are obedient to His Word (Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12).

The word Jeremiah is to preach is not only to the kings, but also to all the people (Jeremiah 17:20). He is to say to all: “Listen to the word of the LORD.” In this word the people are warned concerning their conduct on the sabbath day, for their life is at stake (Jeremiah 17:21). They are instructed that they shall not carry a load on the sabbath day to bring it into Jerusalem. Nor are they to take any load out of their homes. They must not even do any work (Jeremiah 17:22). The constant pressure of materialism on their life makes keeping this commandment a real test.

If one trades or works in spite of the prohibitions, it cannot be done other than for one’s own interest, for greed. It is to trade and make a profit (Nehemiah 13:19; Amos 8:5). The LORD has already given to their fathers the commandment to keep the sabbath day holy (Deuteronomy 5:12-15). From the earliest days of their existence as a people, He wanted that day to be set apart from all other days as a day to serve not themselves, but Him. This is not about keeping the commandment outwardly, but about making visible an inner mind toward the LORD.

Sadly, it is clear how they are toward the LORD. In Jeremiah 17:23, the LORD shows how averse they have been: 1. “Yet they did not listen 2. or incline their ears, 3. but stiffened their necks 4. in order not to listen 5. or take correction.”

This observation does not stop there. The LORD, in His great mercy, adds the invitation to repent (Jeremiah 17:24). The people are given another opportunity to avert judgment, the curse, which will happen if they “listen attentively” to Him. The word “attentively” shows that the LORD is not waiting for lip-language, for fancy words alone. He is looking for truth in the innermost being followed by action. In this case, the people can show that they are listening to Him and doing what He has said regarding the sabbath day.

The blessing that follows obedience to the sabbath commandment is broadly expressed (Jeremiah 17:25). The throne of David will not be empty. Someone from the lineage of David will always reign. And “this city [Jerusalem] will be inhabited forever”, meaning that it will not be depopulated. Instead of being depopulated, people will flock to the city from all sides (Jeremiah 17:26). All these people will offer their various sacrifices there in “the house of the LORD”. That is God’s purpose when He populates a city. That is also God’s purpose with the gathering of the local church. He wants sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, spiritual sacrifices, to be offered there, in the place where the Lord Jesus now dwells.

This promise of blessing upon obedience is followed by the dark flip side (Jeremiah 17:27). If they do not keep the sabbath day holy, but use it for themselves, the LORD will kindle the fire of judgment in the gates of Jerusalem. In the place where the transgression is most visible and where God’s Word has sounded strongly against it, the word of warning will be fulfilled. That fire will reduce their beautiful dwellings to ashes, without any chance of quenching the fire. This actually happened by the armies of Babylon (Jeremiah 52:12-13).

Jeremiah 50:2

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

Jeremiah 50:3

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

Jeremiah 50:4

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

Jeremiah 50:5

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

Jeremiah 50:6

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

Jeremiah 50:8

Introduction

Jeremiah 18-20 belong together. In these chapters we have pictorial teaching about a potter and his workpiece, a vessel. This imagery is used more often in Scripture (Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 64:8; Romans 9:21).

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah receives a command from the LORD through the word that comes to him (Jeremiah 18:1). He is sent to the potter’s house. That house is in the lowlands, for he is to go down there. It is not a potter’s house, but the potter’s house. It is a particular house known to Jeremiah. There are potters in the service of the king. They enjoy his protection. In the house where the king’s authority is and his protection is enjoyed, vessels are made (1 Chronicles 4:22-23). Potters are held in high esteem in those days.

In the potter’s house, the LORD will let Jeremiah hear His words (Jeremiah 18:2). Jeremiah obeys and goes to the potter’s house. When he gets there, he describes what he sees (Jeremiah 18:3). Before he is told the words of the LORD, he first takes in what he sees. It is likely that Jeremiah does know how a potter works. Yet he must see the work done up close and fill his mind with it, so that from a renewed acquaintance with it he can deliver his message. Likewise, we must always be fresh in the application of everyday things as we bring the message of God’s Word.

He sees the potter busy making something on the wheel. These are two discs connected by a spindle. They are set in motion by setting the lower wheel in motion with the foot. On the upper wheel, which rotates simultaneously, a lump of clay is worked.

Jeremiah sees the potter at work. Then he describes what the potter does to a vessel that is spoiled (Jeremiah 18:4). The potter’s hand has worked the clay, but the result is not good in his eyes. He does not throw the clay away, but makes another vessel from the same piece of clay, which is good in his eyes.

The potter works according to a plan. He has something in mind to make that meets the goal he has set himself. If the pot does not meet it, he makes another vessel from the same lump of clay. That is his freedom as a potter. He can do with the clay whatever he wants. The point is not that the vessel is not beautiful, but that it does not meet the goal.

We can think of the wheel as the circumstances of our lives. With these, God, the great Potter, forms us. We are like the clay in His hand. We can have joy or sorrow, wealth or poverty, prosperity or loss. All are touches of His hand by which we are formed. Sorrow is the pressure of His hand so that He may come to His goal with us. Thus we are formed like earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7-8).

When Jeremiah has seen the potter busy and has noted what he does with the clay when the vessel is spoiled, the word of the LORD comes to him (Jeremiah 18:5). The LORD, through Jeremiah, addresses Israel directly. In what He says, His unquestionable right to and His irresistible power over peoples and kingdoms are evident (cf. Job 12:23; cf. Isaiah 40:15).

He points out that as the sovereign Former He can do to them what the potter did to the vessel (Jeremiah 18:6; Isaiah 64:8; Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9; Romans 9:20-23). Israel is in His hand as the clay is in the hand of the potter (cf. Job 10:9). The main idea is that the potter has complete power over the clay. We also see here both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. We humans cannot combine the two, God can.

We err if we think that everything in God’s plan is immutably fixed. He can go back on a purpose if He is given cause to do so. For example, He tells the sinner that His anger is on him. But if the sinner repents, He turns His anger away from him. He is also a God Who answers prayers and thereby comes to a change of His original purpose.

However, we also err when we think that nothing is fixed with God and that He lets Himself be led by the current situation. He has control over everything and nothing is out of His hands. We must let God be Who He is: God; and we must remain aware of who we are: puny, little creatures who cannot call God to account (Romans 9:19-21).

The example of the potter does not mean that the LORD did not work skillfully. Israel is not a spoiled pot because the LORD is an incompetent potter. The clay has become unsound. The vessel has come forth from His hand well, but has rebelled against its Maker. We should not extend the picture and say that the people, like the clay, are passive. Through repentance a person can become a new vessel.

Therefore, the LORD must pronounce upon that people and that kingdom, which is Israel, that He will uproot it and pull it down and destroy it (Jeremiah 18:7). Israel has forsaken the LORD and no longer fulfills His purpose. However, there is a way back, there is a way to become a vessel again that fulfills His purpose and that is the way of turning from evil (Jeremiah 18:8; cf. 2 Chronicles 7:14).

When the people turns from their evil, the LORD will relent concerning the calamity He planned to bring on them. Then the Maker will change His mind and build and plant that people and kingdom (Jeremiah 18:9). Then He will make a vessel out of that same piece of clay to His glory. Thus He spares Nineveh when the city repents, after He has made her announce judgment. But if the people do what is evil in His sight by not listening to His voice, then that good will not come (Jeremiah 18:10).

The potter’s house is a house of comfort for Jeremiah. There he sees in picture what the LORD will do to Israel. He is discouraged by what he has had to announce about Israel, but now he is told that the LORD can make another vessel out of the spoiled Israel that does fulfill His purpose.

In Jeremiah 18:11, the assignment for Jeremiah comes in connection with what he has seen and what the LORD has said about it in connection with Israel. He is to go to Judah and Jerusalem with a message from the LORD and tell them of the calamity the LORD is fashioning against them and the plan He is devising against them. The word “fashioning” in Hebrew is jasar. From that the word joser, which is potter, is derived. The imagery continues in these words.

On the announcement of the calamity, Jeremiah must let the call to repentance follow. The people must repent of their evil ways, not continue in them, but turn toward God. They must also prove their repentance by making good their ways and deeds, that is, start doing in their comings and goings what the LORD asks of them. God’s will over Jerusalem is a will for good, for salvation. He wants nothing more than for them to repent, so that He does not have to carry out His decree of disaster and misery. We hear here what the heart of God is after.

The reaction of the people is astonishing (Jeremiah 18:12). There is not just indifference, but a deliberate choice of evil (cf. Jeremiah 2:25; Jeremiah 6:16). They point out to Jeremiah that he should not count on them to repent. Any hope of that they declare as futile. They have their own plans. The plans of God do not interest them. The people live for themselves and according to their own stubborn, wicked hearts. For a people with such an attitude, there is indeed no hope.

Jeremiah 50:9

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:10

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:11

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:12

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:13

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:14

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:15

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:16

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:17

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:18

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:19

Introduction

The Message of the Potter

Jeremiah 50:20

The Fickleness of Judah

The LORD expresses His amazement at how a people can react like that (Jeremiah 18:13). He wants them to ask among the nations if they have ever heard anything so horrible there as what Judah did. In any case, the nations are consistent in their idols and do not change idols constantly. It is therefore unheard of, even among the nations, what Israel has done. Israel is here called “the virgin of Israel”. That is how the LORD intended her, but she played the harlot with the idols and declared her love to them.

Even nature, under God’s command, is consistent in its behavior, in this case in providing refreshment (Jeremiah 18:14). Has the snow of Lebanon ever ceased to supply cold, flowing water? In other words, did His gracious provision for their refreshment fail, that they forgot Him and offered incense to a nullity?

Despite all God’s care for them, His people forgot Him (Jeremiah 18:15). This ‘forgetfulness’ is a guilty forsaking of the LORD. This sin is immediately followed by a second sin, that of idolatry. Their religion has degenerated into idolatry. To those useless idols they brought their incense offerings, the sacrifices that smell good.

By this course of action they have stumbled from their ways. Their walk is not steadfast, even though they walk in ancient paths, which are the paths of the covenant of the law. Old religion is worthless if it is no more than tradition and the heart is outside of it. Then the old paths are no longer pleasing. Then the people go in bypaths, that God has not appointed, paths that are not according to His Word.

A “bypath” is a path that seems attractive but is unknown. It is a path fraught with dangers of stumbling and even perishing on it. It is the way of a self-willed religion, a religion adorned with all kinds of nice things. We must be on the highway of the Word.

By leaving the ancient paths of God’s law and going their own ways, the land has become a desolation (Jeremiah 18:16). There is also no blessing to be expected and no attraction for others. No one wants to live there. That is what they have made of God’s land. This is where God must bring His discipline.

He will send the enemy as an east wind (Jeremiah 18:17; cf. Jeremiah 4:11-12; Jeremiah 13:24). The east wind chases up the sand and scatters it. So will the enemy chase up and scatter His people. They will have to flee from Him. The LORD will show them His back. They have hardened their back against Him, now He is turning His back on them, that is, His determination to punish them for their rebellious and apostate behavior. That will be the day of their ruin.

Jeremiah 50:21

The Fickleness of Judah

Jeremiah 50:22

The Fickleness of Judah

Jeremiah 50:23

The Fickleness of Judah

Jeremiah 50:24

The Fickleness of Judah

Jeremiah 50:25

The Conspiracy Against Jeremiah

In this verse we hear the reaction of the people. They turn against the man who brings them God’s words to persuade them to return to the source of blessing. However, they do not want that. They want to get rid of him, the preacher of doom (cf. Jeremiah 11:18-19). Instead of him a lot of others. With him, the last priest, sage or prophet really does not die. There are plenty of priests who teach the law and sages who counsel and prophets who speak the word. These are all priests, wise men and prophets they love to hear.

They will be so opposed to him that he will not speak. And if he does say something, they will pay no attention to it, no matter what he says. It may also be that this means that they want to use what Jeremiah says to set up an accusation against him in order to shut him up. In this he resembles the Lord Jesus, Whose enemies also sought to trap Him in a statement (Matthew 26:59; Mark 12:13).

Thus, even today there is a call to silence the man who brings God’s Word. After all, there are plenty of classified theologians, men of repute, who know and who tell what people like to hear. People who call for repentance should shut up. People who say pleasant things are allowed to open their mouths.

Jeremiah 50:26

The Plea of Jeremiah

The people of Judah call one another to disregard the words of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 18:18). Now Jeremiah asks the LORD to heed to him by listening to the voice of those who accuse him (Jeremiah 18:19). He presents his case to the LORD. Surely the LORD cannot repay the good he did with the evil the opponents plan against him, can He (Jeremiah 18:20)?

That his opponents seek his evil is evident from the fact that they have dug a pit for him, literally for his soul. That is, they want to destroy him spiritually so that he gives up his service. But surely he is in the service of the LORD, and surely his service is to speak good on their behalf and to seek good for them by turning away His wrath from them, isn’t it?

If the matter stands like this and they cast off good in his person, he must plead against the people. They do not deserve to grow as a people (Jeremiah 18:21). Children must perish from hunger or by the sword. The women must lose their most precious possession. They must also become widows, for their husbands must perish. Even the young men, the hope of the nation, must fall by the sword.

The safe dwelling places, the houses, must become places of fear and terror because of the sudden intrusion of a band of robbers (Jeremiah 18:22). That band of robbers must be sent by the LORD. It must come upon them all because they are out to capture Jeremiah in a pit and snares, to deprive him of his freedom to preach (Psalms 141:9-10).

Jeremiah knows that the LORD knows all the deliberations of his enemies to kill him (Jeremiah 18:23). He does not have to seek his own justice, but can place it in the hand of the LORD. He also presents Him with the requirement of justice because he knows His justice. It is not about seeking vengeance for what has been done to himself. It is about the dishonor done to the LORD.

What he asks for is consistent with the age in which he lives. If there is such stubborn resistance to the Word of God, there can be no reconciliation of iniquity and sin cannot be blotted out from before God. Such people cannot stand before God’s face. Jeremiah asks the LORD to so deal with them “in the time of Your anger”, leaving to Him the time of the exercise of judgment.

If Jeremiah seems to us as too harsh in his judgment of evil, perhaps it is because we do not judge the evil that surrounds us today harshly enough. Thanks to the media, we see so much evil and sin today, without doing anything about it, that we tend to see it as a normal part of life. More and more often and in more and more areas, evil is called good. We get so used to it that we no longer have feelings of revulsion or have them only about the very worst forms of it. We may pray earnestly, however, that the Lord will keep us from getting used to evil.

Jeremiah 50:27

The Plea of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 50:28

The Plea of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 50:29

The Plea of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 50:30

The Plea of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 50:32

Introduction

In Jeremiah 18, the LORD shows Jeremiah that in sovereign grace it is possible to turn a vessel that is spoiled into a vessel that is usable (Jeremiah 18:4). In Jeremiah 19, the malleable clay has hardened and cannot be reformed into another vessel or jar. Nothing is left but to break it. Jeremiah must say to the elders that their generation will be irreparably broken like a broken jar and its pieces will be taken to Babylon. That generation will not be restored to the land (Jeremiah 19:10-13).

The Earthenware Jar

The LORD answers Jeremiah’s prayer, with which the previous chapter ends, by giving him a new commission. Jeremiah is to leave the judgment to the LORD and continue his work despite all the personal distress and suffering. He must go and buy an earthenware jar. He must not do this alone, but he must take with him some elders of the people and elders of the priests, that is, the men with the most responsibility (Jeremiah 19:1). These elders are the direct cause of the misery in which God’s people find themselves. They are leading the people down a path of sin.

The LORD instructs Jeremiah to go to the valley of Ben-hinnom, specifying that this valley is by “the entrance of the potsherd gate” (Jeremiah 19:2). The valley of Ben-hinnom is the garbage dump of Jerusalem south of the city. There the garbage is burned and children are sacrificed to Molech (Jeremiah 7:31-32; Jeremiah 32:35). It is against this background that Jeremiah must speak his words of warning. It is the vivid and also lurid illustration of the result if they do not listen to his words. Then the city will be made like this valley.

Today, we see children being given up to death, so to speak, as a result of the adulterous behavior of the parents. Father and mother who have grown tired of each other are encouraged to ‘enrich’ their lives by visiting dating sites that promote cheating. Such people lack any sense of responsibility for their children. Of course, they themselves vehemently deny this. It is truly astounding how much people can kill their still somewhat natural feelings and with them their children.

A further indication of what awaits Jerusalem if they continue their stubborn disobedience is the name “potsherd gate”. That name is an indication of what will happen to the jar. The jar will be smashed, in shards, and be unusable and also irreparable (Jeremiah 19:11). It is no longer clay from which another jar can be made. In that place, reminiscent of Israel’s breakup, Jeremiah must speak the words the LORD speaks to him.

Jeremiah must begin with the urgent call: “Hear the word of the LORD” (Jeremiah 19:3). That word the leaders of the people want to withhold from the people, they oppose it. Despite that, the word must be addressed to the kings of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that is, to everyone, from high to low. They must all listen to the judgment that God is going to bring upon them. The LORD speaks as “the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel”, which further indicates that He is exalted above all powers and that He is their God. Therefore, let them listen carefully to Him and obey His words! What He has to say will make the ears tingle of everyone who hears it (cf. 1 Samuel 3:11; 2 Kings 21:12).

The reason for the judgment is also given (Jeremiah 19:4). It is a multiple reason. They have forsaken the LORD and filled the city with their idolatry and blood guilt, thereby alienating it from Him. Jerusalem, the city of God, has become a city where the LORD is like a stranger. He no longer knows His city! There is nothing left of His purposes with it. The LORD has been exchanged for Baal to whom they have built the high places to sacrifice their children to it (Jeremiah 19:5). It is something that was never commanded by Him, that was never spoken by Him, that never even entered His mind.

Jeremiah 50:33

Introduction

The Earthenware Jar

Jeremiah 50:34

Introduction

The Earthenware Jar

Jeremiah 50:35

Introduction

The Earthenware Jar

Jeremiah 50:36

Introduction

The Earthenware Jar

Jeremiah 50:37

The Inevitable Disaster

Through the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD is pointing out to the elders that He will change the names for the garbage dump of Jerusalem, “Topheth” and “Ben-hinnom”, and give “this place”, that is Jerusalem, the name “valley of Slaughter” (Jeremiah 19:6). This change of name has to do with the many who will be killed in Jerusalem. He says He will make void the counsel of His apostate people, for He knows those counsels (Jeremiah 19:7). He will make them void by giving them up to the sword of their enemies. Their carcasses He will expose to the greatest reproach by giving them to the beasts for food.

Of the city he will make an object of desolation and of hissing (Jeremiah 19:8). Instead of being an attractive city, the city will become a dismay to everyone who passes by it. Instead of sacrificing their children to idols (Jeremiah 19:5), they will eat the flesh of their children and neighbors because of the tremendous distress caused by a siege (Jeremiah 19:9; Leviticus 26:27-29; Deuteronomy 28:53; 2 Kings 6:26-29; Lamentations 4:10). All feeling and sense of natural love are gone. This is due to idolatry.

Jeremiah 50:38

The Inevitable Disaster

Jeremiah 50:39

The Inevitable Disaster

Jeremiah 50:40

The Inevitable Disaster

Jeremiah 50:41

The Destruction of Judah

After the words of judgment Jeremiah has spoken before the ears of the elders who have gone with him, he must now break the jar before their eyes (Jeremiah 19:10). He must immediately communicate the meaning of this on behalf of “the LORD of hosts” (Jeremiah 19:11). The meaning is, that what Jeremiah did to the jar, the LORD will do to the people and the city. It is the same as what the Lord Jesus will do to the nations (Psalms 2:9; Revelation 2:27).

The breach will be irreparable (Jeremiah 19:12). This then concerns the wicked mass. We see something similar in the cursing by the Lord Jesus of the fig tree, on which there will be no more fruit forever (Matthew 21:19). The fig tree is a picture of the wicked mass of the people. To their shame, the corpses will be buried in Topheth, the place where they brought their child sacrifices. The LORD confirms in the most serious way that He will carry out His purpose in judgment regarding the place and its inhabitants by pointing out that He will make that place like Topheth.

All the houses of Jerusalem – a city is made up of houses – including those of the kings of Judah, become as unclean as Topheth because of the many corpses (Jeremiah 19:13). The city becomes one big Topheth, one big garbage dump. This is because they have turned their houses into idol altars. Indeed, on their roofs incense offerings were brought to heavenly bodies and drink offerings to other gods (Jeremiah 32:29; Zephaniah 1:4-5). Their houses thus became high places for Baal, filling the city with abominations, an abomination to the LORD.

Jeremiah 50:42

The Destruction of Judah

Jeremiah 50:43

The Destruction of Judah

Jeremiah 50:44

The Destruction of Judah

Jeremiah 50:45

The Message of Topheth Also in the Court

After Jeremiah has spoken the words of the LORD to the elders in Topheth, he goes into the court of the LORD’s house to address the people present there (Jeremiah 19:14). He speaks the same words of judgment there as he spoke in Topheth. He now speaks on behalf of “the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel” (Jeremiah 19:15; Jeremiah 19:11). The content of the judgment is what the LORD has spoken. The reason for the judgment is their obstinacy in not listening to His words (cf. Acts 7:51).

Jeremiah 50:46

The Message of Topheth Also in the Court

KingComments on the Whole Bible

Ger de Koning is a Dutch Bible teacher associated with the Plymouth Brethren whose KingComments provides a complete verse-by-verse commentary on every book of the Bible. Written in accessible language with a devotional, Christ-centered approach, KingComments is freely available online and has been …

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Old Testament

GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUT 1SA 2SA 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH EZR NEH EST JOB PSA PRO ECC SOS ISA JER LAM EZK DAN HOS JOL AMO OBA JON MIC NAH HAB ZEP HAG ZEC MAL

New Testament

MAT MRK LUK JHN ACT ROM 1CO 2CO GAL EPH PHP COL 1TH 2TH 1TI 2TI TIT PHM HEB JAS 1PE 2PE 1JN 2JN 3JN JUD REV

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