Jeremiah 17
OGCREVIEW OF CHAPTER TEN
I. Facts to Master
The time when Jeremiah received this word from God (Jeremiah 14:1).
Two titles of God used in Jeremiah 14:8.
Number of times God forbids Jeremiah to pray on behalf of his people.
What would not avail to spare the people from further calamity. (Jeremiah 14:12).
The message of the false prophets (Jeremiah 14:13; Jeremiah 14:15).
The divine explanation of false prophecy (Jeremiah 14:14).
The fate of the false prophets (Jeremiah 14:15).
Two great prophetic intercessors from the past (Jeremiah 15:1).
The four fates awaiting the sinners of Judah (Jeremiah 15:2).
The four destructive agencies God has appointed over them (Jeremiah 14:3).
The one king in particular whose sin necessitated the destruction of Judah (Jeremiah 15:4).
That of which Jeremiah accused God (Jeremiah 15:18).
Three prohibitions in chapter 16.
The great event of the future which would make Israel forget the Exodus from Egypt (Jeremiah 16:14-15).
The unique figures by which the Chaldeans are described (Jeremiah 16:16).
The sin of Judah is written with the point of a _________ (Jeremiah 17:1).
Their sin was engraved upon their and the _____________ (Jeremiah 17:1).
The heart is and is exceedingly (Jeremiah 17:9).
The place where Jeremiah delivered his sermon on Sabbath observance (Jeremiah 17:19).
What they were not to do on the Sabbath (Jeremiah 17:21-22).
II. Questions to Ponder
Just how serious was the drought which occasioned the oracles in this block of material? See Jeremiah 14:2-6.
Who is responsible for the prayer in Jeremiah 14:7-9, the prophet or the people? Is it sincere? Were the people really willing to pay the price of divine blessing? What was God’s response to the prayer? See Jeremiah 14:10-12.
What is the point of the reference to the sojourner and wayfaring man in Jeremiah 14:8?
By what criteria could a false prophet be distinguished from a true prophet? How can the message of a false prophet today best be countered? See Jeremiah 14:17.
Who is praying in Jeremiah 14:19-22?
What is the mood of the prophet at this time? See Jeremiah 15:10. How does God answer Jeremiah’s complaint? Jeremiah 15:11-14.
Why does Jeremiah feel that God owes him some thing? Jeremiah 15:16-18 a.
Did Jeremiah go too far in his complaint? How does God answer His bitter and discouraged prophet? Jeremiah 15:19-21.
why was Jeremiah refused permission to marry? See Jeremiah 16:3-4. Are wives a help or hindrance to the Gospel minister?
Does God expect Christians to cease mourning for the dead (Jeremiah 16:5) and to eliminate times of rejoicing (Jeremiah 16:8)? Why these prohibitions to Jeremiah?
Is a sinner aware of his iniquity? See Jeremiah 16:10.
What is meant by recompense their iniquity and their sin double? Jeremiah 16:18.
In Jeremiah 16:19-20 Jeremiah expresses confidence that Gen tiles will eventually cast away their idols. How does God respond to that prayer in Jeremiah 16:21? Does God have a plan for the nations? Where do Christians fit into that plan?
What is my mountain in the field? Jeremiah 17:3.
In Jeremiah 17:5-8 the believer and the unbeliever are contrasted. How do they differ?
Does Jeremiah 17:9 teach total depravity?
What is the point of the proverb about riches in Jeremiah 17:11?
For what does Jeremiah pray in Jeremiah 17:12-18?
What does Jeremiah’s sermon on Sabbath observance prove as regards his attitude toward religious observances?
Jeremiah 17:1-4
IV. PROPHETIC SAYINGS Jeremiah 17:1-11
The first eleven verses of chapter 17 contain three independent sayings of the prophet probably from three different sermons. These sayings do not seem to have any logical connection with one another. In them Jeremiah is concerned about the guilt of the nation (Jeremiah 17:1-4), trusting the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5-8) and the nature of the human heart (Jeremiah 17:9-11).
A. The Guilt of the Nation Jeremiah 17:1-4
TRANSLATION
(1) The sin of Judah is written with a stylus of iron; with a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart and upon the horns of your altars: (2) while their children remember their altars and their Asherahs beside the green trees and on the high hills. (3) O My mountain in the field! Your wealth and all of your treasures I will give for a spoil, your high places in all of your boundaries because of sin. (4) And you even in yourself shall lose your hold on your inheritance which I have given to you; and I will cause you to serve your enemies in a land which you do not know; for you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.
COMMENTS
A stylus of iron with diamond point was used by the artisans of Egypt and Babylon to chisel into solid rock the glorious records of their civilizations. Those records of rock have survived the ravishes of time and today can be studied first hand by students of ancient history. Sin also leaves a record; and Jeremiah points to three areas where the record of Judah’s sin could be found. (1) Judah’s sin was indelibly written upon the tablet of their heart. The inhabitants of the land had made their hearts as hard as stone and consequently the word of God could not penetrate their lives. If the people would but examine their own hearts they would see clearly the record of every rebellion and disobedience. (2) Judah’s sin was also written upon the horns of their altars (Jeremiah 17:1). Both the altar of incense and the huge altar of burnt offering had projections at the four corners upon which the blood of the sacrificial victims was smeared. These horns were regarded as the most sacred part of the altar. How ironical it is that in the very spot where one should have been able to find forgiveness of sin, the record of sin was obvious to any observer. Jeremiah no doubt here alludes to the hypocrisy and pagan practices which had perverted true worship. (3) Perhaps most important, the sin of Judah has been inscribed on the memory of the children of the land. From their earliest days all that the children could remember was pagan worship. They remembered the Asherahs (not groves as in KJV), a sacred pole erected beside pagan altars. They remembered the green shady spots on the hill tops where the licentious rites were conducted in honor of the fertility gods (Jeremiah 17:2).
Because of her record of sin and rebellion all the wealth of Jerusalem and all her high places will be given as spoil to an enemy. Jerusalem is here addressed as My mountain in the field (Jeremiah 17:3). The word field here is best understood as meaning an open place rather than a level place. Mt. Zion upon which Jerusalem is built rises abruptly, like a mountain, out of the midst of the surrounding valleys. The inhabitants of Judah will lose their inheritance and be deported to a distant land. By their perpetual rebellion they have kindled the fire of divine wrath (Jeremiah 17:4). People who play with the fire of sin are bound to get scorched!
Jeremiah 17:5-8
B. The Desert Shrub and the Flourishing Tree Jeremiah 17:5-8
TRANSLATION
(5) Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart departs from the LORD. (6) For he shall be like a tamarisk in the wilderness, and he shall not see when good comes; but he shall dwell in the parched areas of the wilderness, in a land of salt which is not inhabited. (7) Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose object of trust is the LORD. (8) He shall be as a tree planted alongside of waters and alongside of the river he puts forth his roots. He shall not fear when heat comes. His leaf shall be green. In the year of drought he will not be anxious nor shall he cease from producing fruit.
COMMENTS
In Jeremiah 17:5-8 Jeremiah draws a picture of contrast between the unbeliever and the believer. Jeremiah 17:5 mentions two characteristics of the unbeliever. The unbeliever continuously (Hebrew imperfect) puts his trust in flesh i.e., he puts his trust in what is weak, sinful, mortal and temporal. While he may give lip service to the Almighty he has departed from the Lord in his own heart. It is interesting that two Hebrew words for man are used in Jeremiah 17:5. The first word is gever which refers to man in his strength, man as he was intended to be. The second word is adam which signifies man in his creaturely weakness. Thus, cursed is the man (gever) who trusts in man (adam). After indicating the characteristics of the unbeliever Jeremiah describes in Jeremiah 17:6 the conditions of such a man. He is like the tamarisk, a twisted, gnarled, dwarfed little tree which grows in the most barren and rocky parts of the desert. The roots of the tamarisk constantly grope for water but find precious little. That starved and stunted shrub just hangs on to a miserable existence. So it is with the unbeliever. He shall not see when good comes. He is always groping, searching for the good life, the more abundant life, but alas he never finds it. In spite of the riches he might possess he is not living, he is only existing. His life is a parched wilderness, a land of salt, i.e., a land absolutely barren (cf. Deuteronomy 29:23).
In contrast to the life of the unbeliever the one who puts his trust in God is blessed (Jeremiah 17:7). In terminology reminiscent of Psa 1:3 Jeremiah describes the life of the believer. He is like a tree which puts its roots down alongside a perennial stream. That tree will flourish and be fruitful because the supply of water is never exhausted. So the believer has put down his roots beside the inexhaustible stream of divine grace. Even during the drought period of life, the times of severe testing and trial, he does not wilt, he does not fear. On the contrary he continues to flourish and bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:9-11
C. The Deceitful Human Heart Jeremiah 17:9-11
TRANSLATION
(9) The heart is deceitful more than anything and incurable; who can know it? (10) I am the LORD who searches the heart, tries the mind in order to give to man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. (11) A partridge that broods but does not hatch is he who acquires wealth unjustly; in the midst of his days he shall leave it and in his end shall be a fool.
COMMENTS
The heart, according to Hebrew psychology, was the center of one’s intellect, emotions and will. Modern psychology would agree with the observation of Jeremiah that the heart is deceitful. Few have insight into their real motivations. The heart of man is incurable or desperately sick or, according to the King James Version, desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). There is within man a tendency, a natural inclination to do that which is wrong. Only when one allows the Holy Spirit to dwell within the heart can he hope to walk in the paths of righteousness. While the natural man is unable to know his own heart God does search the hearts of men. He tries and tests the mind (literally, the kidneys), a term which in Hebrew psychology indicated the emotional aspect of man. On the basis of His divine knowledge of the inner thoughts and feelings of men, God is able to dispense justly both reward and punishment (Jeremiah 17:10), This doctrine of reward and punishment appears also in Jeremiah 32:19 (cf. Psalms 62:12; Job 34:11).
In Jeremiah 17:11 Jeremiah offers an illustration of the kind of deceit which is referred to in Jeremiah 17:9. Those who acquire wealth unjustly are like a partridge that broods but does not hatch her eggs. The partridge lays many eggs but also has many natural enemies who hunt her nest and destroy her eggs. So is the man with ill-gotten gain. He shall be deprived of his wealth as swiftly as the partridge who begins to sit upon her nest but is soon robbed of her eggs. In the midst of his days the man who has made wealth his god shall leave it all behind. His attachment to the material and temporal will prove him to be a fool in his last desperate hours. A fool in the Old Testament is not necessarily one who is stupid but one who is lacking in moral understanding and in the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.[208] One cannot read this passage without thinking of the foolish farmer spoken of in the parable of Jesus (Luke 12:16-21). Building bigger barns was uppermost in his mind. He had forgotten that life is but a vapor of uncertain duration. In an unexpected moment this fool was summoned into eternity.
[208] Freedman, op cit., pp. 120.
Jeremiah 17:12-18
V. PROPHETIC PRAYER Jeremiah 17:12-18
TRANSLATION
(12) O throne of glory exalted from the beginning, the place of our sanctuary! (13) O hope of Israel, the LORD! All that forsake You shall be put to shame. Those who turn from me shall be written down in the land, for they have forsaken the fountain of living waters, the LORD. (14) Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed! Deliver me and I shall be delivered! For You are the object of my praise. (15) Behold, they are saying unto me: Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come! (16) And as for me, I did not hasten from being a shepherd after you, and the incurable day I did not desire. You yourself know! That which came out of my lips was before Your face. (17) Do not be to me a terror! You are my refuge in the evil day. (18) Let those who persecute me be put to shame, but do not let me experience consternation. Bring upon them the evil day and with double shattering shatter them.
COMMENTS
It is difficult to know in Jeremiah 17:12 whether throne of glory and place of our sanctuary refer to Jerusalem or to God Himself. The American Standard and King James versions suggest the former interpretation; but the Hebrew would allow just as well for the latter view. If the reference is to Jerusalem it is difficult to see how the verse relates to the rest of the prayer. The verse fits well however as part of the address of the prayer. God is called the throne exalted from the beginning by metonymy. This title suggests that God from the beginning of time was the exalted ruler over all the earth. God is called the place of our sanctuary because true worship is grounded in Him. In Jeremiah 17:13 the Lord is called the hope of Israel and the fountain of living waters. It is interesting to note that the prophet who called God a deceitful stream in a recent prayer (Jeremiah 15:18) now refers to Him as the fountain of living waters. Jeremiah is confident that anyone who turns from God will be put to shame. So confident is Jeremiah that he is the true spokesman for God that he can equate turning from God with turning from himself. To depart from Jeremiahto refuse to hear his messageis to turn away from the Lord. Such as refuse to hear the word of God will be written in the land or ground. A name scratched in the dust of the ground is soon obliterated. So it is with the unbeliever. For a while he may hold the limelight; but in short order he fades from the scene and his name is forgotten.[209]
[209] M. J. Dahood has recently suggested another interpretation of this verse. On the basis of certain Ugaritic evidence he takes earth here to mean underworld or death. The apostates then will be listed for death. Biblica XL (1959) pp. 164-166.
From invocation and declaration of faith in the Lord Jeremiah moves in his prayer to petition. He cries out for healing but not the healing of the body; he yearns for the spiritual and mental healing. His heart is broken because the people he loves rejected the message. He cries out for deliverance from the sneers and jeers of the apostates. He knows that God can and will heal and deliver him and for this reason he makes God the object of his praise (Jeremiah 17:14).
Jeremiah moves on in his prayer to narrative. He describes to God his own situation. The people are mocking Jeremiah. They are demanding that his prophecies be fulfilled. According to Deuteronomy 18:22 one whose prediction did not come true was to be treated as a false prophet. SO far none of Jeremiah’s dire predictions concerning the fate of Jerusalem had come to pass. No doubt this prayer dates to the period prior to the first Babylonian invasion of Judah in 605 B.C. For years Jeremiah had been predicting a calamity which would befall Judah at the hands of the enemy from the north. So far nothing had happened. Some, no doubt, were charging Jeremiah with being a false prophet. Others may have even gone so far as to question whether the Lord had the power to carry out His threats. The recent drought which God had sent upon the land had utterly failed to impress the hardened sinners of Judah. Instead of heeding the warnings issued by the prophet of God the inhabitants of Judah chuckled and said Let it come!
In his prayer Jeremiah defends himself and calls attention to his loyalty to God. He makes three points. (1) Jeremiah had not hastened or hurried away from his responsibility of being God’s shepherd to Israel. Even though he faced opposition and persecution almost from the outset of his ministry he had not quickly abandoned his work. He did not quit when the going got tough. Rather he continued in his position as an undershepherd following after the Lord. Jeremiah walked in the footsteps of his God and sought to lead the flock of God in those old paths which the Lord had so clearly identified in His word. (2) Jeremiah did not desire the incurable (same word used in Jeremiah 17:9) day or woeful day. Here the day of Judah’s punishment is metaphorically called sick or incurable. Jeremiah took no malicious delight in announcing the doom which was to befall Judah. He was not merely giving vent to his own hostilities. He preached judgment because that message was laid upon him by the Lord. In spite of the fact that the message brought was personally distasteful, Jeremiah kept preaching. (3) Jeremiah was utterly sincere in his ministry. God knew that. Every word which the prophet had uttered was known to the Lord. He had not diminished from nor added to the word which was laid upon his heart. He had been a faithful messenger.
Following the narrative portion of his prayer Jeremiah adds further petition. Many years earlier God had commanded Jeremiah not to be dismayed or terrified before his enemies (Jeremiah 1:17). But by delaying the punishment which the prophet had been threatening God was allowing Jeremiah to become the object of ridicule and harassment. Jeremiah therefore prays that God will keep His word, that He will not be a terror to his prophet. In effect Jeremiah is praying that he will not be embarrassed, dismayed or terrified because of his loyalty to God and His word. Jeremiah knows that he personally has nothing to fear in the evil day i.e., the day of divine punishment (Jeremiah 17:17). Therefore he calls upon God to utterly silence the sneering, scoffing enemies by sending the threatened judgment. He asks that his enemies be confounded and confused. He asks that they receive double destruction i.e., complete, total destruction.
Some commentators see a contradiction between what the prophet has previously said in his prayer and what he asks God to do in Jeremiah 17:18. In Jeremiah 17:16 Jeremiah said that he did not desire the evil day; here he calls on God to send the evil day. The solution to this apparent contradiction is simple. Jeremiah desired and prayed for the salvation of Judah as a nation. But within the nation are certain hard core, utterly perverse antagonists who are the enemies of God as well as the enemies of God’s prophet. They deserve the punishment which Jeremiah has been threatening. When the prophet asks God to pour out his wrath upon these hardened sinners there is no personal animosity or vindictiveness. Rather here as in similar prayers Jeremiah is jealous for the Lord his God.
Jeremiah 17:19-23
VI. PROPHETIC PROCLAMATION Jeremiah 17:19-27
Chapter 17 ends with a prose discourse urging the keeping of the Sabbath. Like Amos (Amos 8:4-6) and Isaiah (Isaiah 56, 58) before him, Jeremiah regarded violation of the Sabbath as a serious offense. Jeremiah in this sermon addressed to the royal house makes Sabbath observance the condition for national survival. The sermon moves through three phases: (1) exhortation (Jeremiah 17:19-23); (2) promise (Jeremiah 17:24-26); and (3) threat (Jeremiah 17:27).
A. Exhortation Jeremiah 17:19-23
TRANSLATION
(19) Thus said the LORD unto me: Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; (20)and say unto them, Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who are coming in these gates. (21) Thus says the LORD: Watch out for your souls! Do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring them into the gates of Jerusalem. (22) Do not bring out a burden from your houses on the Sabbath day and cease all work. Sanctify the Sabbath day as I commanded your fathers. (23) But they did not hearken nor did they incline their ears but made their neck stiff neither to hear nor receive correction.
COMMENTS
Jeremiah is commissioned to preach this sermon in the gates of the city of Jerusalem. He is to start at that gate which was most frequently used by the kings. This gate, called the gate of the children of the people, cannot be identified (Jeremiah 17:19). He addresses his message to the kings of Judah, the population of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 17:20). The question has been raised as to why Jeremiah uses the plural kings. Perhaps the message was to be applied to successive kings of Judah. But more likely Jeremiah is addressing the entire royal house under this title. There is evidence in this period that the members of the royal family exercised considerable authority. Zedekiah, for example, seems to have been completely dominated by this group. Thus here the word kings is used loosely to refer to all the princes of the realm.
Jeremiah’s object in this message is to get the people to hallow the Sabbath day. Apparently the Sabbath law was, disregarded. Goods from far and near were being transported into the city and business was being conducted as usual on the seventh day. For this reason Jeremiah calls upon the merchants to cease bringing goods into the city on the Sabbath (Jeremiah 17:21) and calls upon the people to cease bringing articles from their houses with which to barter for the produce of the merchants. He exhorts the inhabitants of Jerusalem to sanctify the Sabbath in the way in which God commanded their fathers to do (Jeremiah 17:22). The fathers had rejected the commandment of God and as a result had suffered divine correction. But even this divine correction had not induced repentance on the part of the previous generation (Jeremiah 17:23). The nation had continued on the path of disobedience until now Judah was faced with the inevitable national destruction.
Jeremiah 17:24-27
B. Promise and Threat Jeremiah 17:24-27
TRANSLATION
(24) And it shall come to pass if you fully hearken unto Me (oracle of the LORD) not to carry a burden into the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and to sanctify the Sabbath day not to do in it any work, (25) then there shall pass through the gates of this city kings and princes who sit upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited forever. (26) And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem and from the land of Benjamin and from the Shephelah and from the hill country and from the Negev bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices and meal offerings and in cense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. (27) But if you do not hearken unto Me to sanctify the Sabbath day and not to carry a burden while going through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will place a fire in her gates, and it shall consume the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be extinguished.
COMMENTS
If there was any manifestation of national repentance with regard to the Sabbath observance the city would be spared. Things would continue as usual with kings and their entourages passing through the gates of the city (Jeremiah 17:24-25). From all parts of the territories of Judah and Benjamin men would continue to come to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice. The Shephelah, the Negev and the hill country are the three geographical regions of Judah. The Shephelah was the lowland region which separated the coastal plains from the hill country. The Negev was the region south of Beersheba. The different types of sacrifice or offerings enumerated prove conclusively that Jeremiah was not opposed to sacrifice as such. He mentions (1) burnt offerings, (2) sacrifices or peace offerings, (3) meal offerings, (4) incense, and (5) thank-offerings. If the people of Judah would only keep the Sabbath commandment business and worship would continue as usual. But if the exhortation to sanctify the Sabbath is ignored, then God will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem. Fire here as in Amos 1:4 to Amos 2:5 is symbolic of war.
Jeremiah’s sermon on Sabbath observance underscores the fact that prophecies, no matter how final in tone, are conditional. God is always ready to receive the repentant sinner and forgive him. While Jeremiah had on numerous occasions spoken of the judgment to come as inevitable, he here makes it clear that he had a program for the people, a program which if followed could in fact avert the disaster. Jeremiah had been pleading with the people to put their trust in God alone. Now he urges them to show their faith by their works. By sanctifying the Sabbath day the inhabitants of Judah could demonstrate their faith in God. The Lord had promised to so bless their six days of labor that they could afford to set aside the seventh day for His service (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). If they really had faith in God they would not hesitate to sanctify the Sabbath. Of course the generation of Jeremiah’s day did not comply with the conditions stipulated in this sermon and consequently the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar,