JEREMIAH LESSON 12


     We will begin this lesson in Jeremiah 11:1 "The word that came to
Jeremiah from the LORD, saying," Jeremiah 11:2 "Hear ye the words of
this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem;"

     To read a more detailed account of the covenant spoken of, read
all of 2nd Kings, chapter 23. This will, also, go into detail about
the sins of the people. Verse 2 above, is spoken to Jeremiah. Jeremiah
is to first hear from God, and then speak to the men of Judah. This
was not to be spoken to just those who held high positions, but to all
inhabitants.

     Jeremiah 11:3 "And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel; Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this
covenant,"

     God had promised the land of milk and honey to those who kept
covenant with Him. He, also, promised that those who broke the
covenant, would be cursed. One of the most important things about the
covenant, was to keep the passover. This was not optional, it was a
requirement.

     Jeremiah 11:4 "Which I commanded your fathers in the day [that] I
brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace,
saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command
you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:"

     The passover was something they were to keep, as long as they
were alive. The passover celebrated the night when death passed over
the Hebrew houses that had the blood of the lamb over the door. It was
the very thing that caused Pharaoh to release them. They had been
slaves in Egypt. Egypt kept them under hard {iron} bondage. This was
the birth of the Israelite nation. God promised to be their God, if
they kept His commandments.

     Jeremiah 11:5 "That I may perform the oath which I have sworn
unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as
[it is] this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD."

     God still wanted them to have the land of milk and honey, but
they must keep their part of the bargain. So be it, and Amen, express
the same thing. Jeremiah agrees with everything God has said.

     Jeremiah 11:6 "Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these
words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying,
Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them."

     It appears, from this, that Jeremiah was to read the covenant
again to the people of Judah, and in Jerusalem. It is a last warning
for them to keep covenant with God.

     Jeremiah 11:7 "For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the
day [that] I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, [even] unto
this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice."

     The message from God had never changed. He wanted them to obey
His commands. Their fathers, who were freed from Egypt, wandered in
the wilderness 40 years, because of their disobedience. It seems these
people never learn. God would protect them, and provide for all their
needs, if they would obey Him.

     Jeremiah 11:8 "Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but
walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I
will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded
[them] to do; but they did [them] not."

     Since they did not obey, they could expect the curses, instead of
the blessings. Again, these are spelled out in detail in Deuteronomy
chapter 28, beginning with the 15th verse through the 44th verse. Read
all of it. I will give just the summation of it in the next verses.
Deuteronomy 28:45 "Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and
shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because
thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his
commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:"  Deuteronomy
28:46 "And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and
upon thy seed for ever."

     Jeremiah 11:9 "And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found
among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem."

     The conspiracy was against God. I believe the conspiracy is just
speaking of the fact that both Judah and Jerusalem had broken covenant
with God.

     Jeremiah 11:10 "They are turned back to the iniquities of their
forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other
gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have
broken my covenant which I made with their fathers."

     The iniquities of their forefathers were their determination to
worship false gods. It seems that time had not caused their
unfaithfulness to go away. They were committing the same sins their
fathers committed.  The main thing to remember, is that God did not
break the covenant He made. Israel and Judah broke the covenant.

     Jeremiah 11:11  "Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will
bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and
though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them."


     "Therefore" is the key word in this. It connects with the verse
above, which told of the breaking of the covenant. The Scripture,
here, is just explaining the results of their broken covenant. Their
deliberate unfaithfulness to God, will bring the evil upon them. The
sad thing in all of this, is that God will no longer hear their
prayer. It is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man that
availeth much. The best way to get prayers answered, is be in right
standing with God.

     Jeremiah 11:12 "Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of
Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but
they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble."

     Since God will not listen to their prayers, they go and pray to
these false gods {idols}. That is the very thing that got them in
trouble with God in the first place. The idol has no power at all to
help anyone. Their prayers, then, were an action in futility.

     Jeremiah 11:13 "For [according to] the number of thy cities were
thy gods, O Judah; and [according to] the number of the streets of
Jerusalem have ye set up altars to [that] shameful thing, [even]
altars to burn incense unto Baal."

     Baal was the name of one of the many false gods. It appears they
worshipped many false gods. Manasseh raised many altars to false gods.

     Jeremiah 11:14 "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither
lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear [them] in the
time that they cry unto me for their trouble."

     These people have placed their faith in false gods, so God tells
Jeremiah not to pray to Him for them. He is saying, let their false
gods help them. God's anger against their unfaithfulness is great.
God will not help them this time.

     Jeremiah 11:15 "What hath my beloved to do in mine house,
[seeing] she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is
passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest."

     We had mentioned, in an earlier lesson, how all of the family of
Israel {including Benjamin and Judah} were spoken of as the wife of
God. For them to follow after false gods, is the same thing as
committing spiritual adultery.  They were God's beloved, but they have
left Him.

     Jeremiah 11:16 "The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree,
fair, [and] of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath
kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken."

     Some of the olive trees in Israel are thought to have lived
thousands of years. They are of a hardy stock. The green olive tree
would have many years to produce fruit. The righteous man is, many
times, spoken of as the green olive tree. They would have been God's
forever, had they not strayed.  Now, God has broken off the branches
and will burn them.  They are no more beautiful to God. There will be
a remnant left.  The stock will spring forth new branches.

     Jeremiah 11:17 "For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath
pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and
of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to
provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal."

     This is very similar to the fig tree that Jesus cursed, because
it did not produce fruit. God planted the olive tree that symbolizes
Israel. He, also, planted the fig tree which symbolizes Israel. Sin
cursed them. They had brought the sin upon themselves. When incense
was burned to God, it represented the prayers that went up to God.
This incense burned to Baal, showed they were putting their faith and
trust in this false god Baal.

     Jeremiah 11:18  "And the LORD hath given me knowledge [of it],
and I know [it]: then thou shewedst me their doings."

     When Jeremiah began to prophecy, we must remember, he was just a
boy. He had not looked into the sins of these people, until God called
him to prophecy against them. God has, now, shown him all the evil
these people have done. God wants Jeremiah to understand why He is
punishing them so harshly.

     Jeremiah 11:19 "But I [was] like a lamb [or] an ox [that] is
brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices
against me, [saying], Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof,
and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may
be no more remembered."

     God has shown Jeremiah that these evil men plan to kill him, and
get rid of him. Jeremiah was helpless to stop them from killing him.
He did not have any idea they planned to kill him. Jeremiah was just
doing the job God sent him to do. He did not know they would take
their anger about the message out on him.  They felt Jeremiah was the
tree from which these messages sprang from.  They hated Jeremiah so
much, that they did not want anyone to even remember his name. Their
plans were to remove him from among the living.

     Jeremiah 11:20 "But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously,
that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them:
for unto thee have I revealed my cause."

     God would no longer hear the prayers of this evil people, but He
would hear the prayer of Jeremiah. He knew his only hope was for God
to take up his defense. Jeremiah knew that God was just, and would
judge this fairly. God would take vengeance on them for Jeremiah.
He would get to see the vengeance, because he was allowed to remain in
Jerusalem, when Babylon attacked. God knows that Jeremiah is right in
his heart. He is just being obedient to God.

     Jeremiah 11:21 "Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of
Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the
LORD, that thou die not by our hand:"

     The men of Anathoth swore by the LORD that if Jeremiah would stop
his prophecy, they would not kill him. In other words, if he did not
stop his prophecy, they intended to kill him.

     Jeremiah 11:22 "Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I
will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and
their daughters shall die by famine:"

     They have sworn by a name they did not even believe in. God would
not allow them to use His name anymore. They have, also, spoken
against God's anointed. They have threatened to kill Jeremiah, so that
is the punishment against them. Those who do not die in battle, will
starve to death.

     Jeremiah 11:23 "And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will
bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, [even] the year of their
visitation."

     God was going to save a remnant of Israel, Benjamin and Judah.
There would not be even a remnant left of Anathoth. The year of their
visitation is their year of punishment.




































                         Jeremiah 12 Questions


1.  Who was Jeremiah to speak to about the covenant?
2.  Where can you find a more detailed explanation of the covenant?
3.  Who specifically was Jeremiah to speak to?
4.  Cursed be the man that __________ ____ the words of this covenant.
5.  Who had God promised the land of milk and honey to?
6.  What was one of the most important things of the covenant to keep?
7.  What did passover celebrate?
8.  God would be their God, if they _______ ____ _____________.
9.  Where was Jeremiah to read the covenant?
10. Why had their fathers wandered in the wilderness 40 years?
11. Where, in Deuteronomy, are the curses spelled out in detail?
12. Quote Deuteronomy chapter 28 verse 45.
13. Who was their conspiracy against?
14. They had turned back to the ___________ of their forefathers.
15. What were their iniquities?
16. Who broke the covenant?
17. What is the key word in verse 11?
18. If God will not hear, where do they go for help?
19. How many false gods did they worship?
20. What was the name of one specific false god?
21. What does God call them in verse 15?
22. Who were spoken of as the wife of God?
23. Following false gods was the same as what?
24. What do the olive tree and the fig tree have in common?
25. Why did Jeremiah not have knowledge of all they were doing in the
    beginning?
26. What did these evil men want to do to Jeremiah?
27. What did God do to them?