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| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
Jeremiah 14-17 Listen 
We have drought in Judah (Jeremiah 14)
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.
2 “Judah mourns,
And her gates languish;
They mourn for the land,
And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
3 Their nobles have sent their lads for water;
They went to the cisterns and found no water.
They returned with their vessels empty;
They were ashamed and confounded
And covered their heads.
4 Because the ground is parched,
For there was no rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads.
5 Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,
But left because there was no grass.
6 And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;
They sniffed at the wind like jackals;
Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”
7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us,
Do it for Your name’s sake;
For our backslidings are many,
We have sinned against You.
8 O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,
Why should You be like a stranger in the land,
And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why should You be like a man astonished,
Like a mighty one who cannot save?
Yet You, O LORD, are in our midst,
And we are called by Your name;
Do not leave us!
10 ¶ Thus says the LORD to this people:
“Thus they have loved to wander;
They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the LORD does not accept them;
He will remember their iniquity now,
And punish their sins.”
11 ¶ Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good.
12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”
13 ¶ Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’ ”
14 ¶ And the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.
15 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, “Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed!
16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’
17 ¶ “Therefore you shall say this word to them:
‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
For the virgin daughter of my people
Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
18 If I go out to the field,
Then behold, those slain with the sword!
And if I enter the city,
Then behold, those sick from famine!
Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”
19 Have You utterly rejected Judah?
Has Your soul loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us?
We looked for peace, but there was no good;
And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.
20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness
And the iniquity of our fathers,
For we have sinned against You.
21 Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.
Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are You not He, O LORD our God?
Therefore we will wait for You,
Since You have made all these.
There's typically not an abundance of rainfall in Israel anyway, much like the rainfall averages of states in America, west of the Mississippi River, like Arizona, Nevada, etc. Drought was not an infrequent occurrence back then, along with the famine that resulted. Nonetheless, the people always felt that a drought was some sort of a message from God. So, in the midst of a drought they would pray and sacrifice.
Let's get an overview of the exchange between God and Jeremiah in this chapter:
The only problem here is that they did not turn away from their false gods and proclaim faith in the one and only true God. In verses 7-9, Jeremiah prays for his people despite their rebellion against God. However, we have another interesting word from God to Jeremiah in verse 11, "Then the LORD said to me, 'Do not pray for this people, for their good.'" We keep seeing this lesson in the Book of Jeremiah, and I believe it's a strong lesson for us today: It is not proper to pray for the prosperity of Believers who are rejecting God's counsel.
Jeremiah had another nagging problem - false prophets. These were politically correct guys (and maybe gals) who prophesied to the people that relief was on the way, that things were going to be okay. God tells Jeremiah that they'll get their just due when people realize that they had been intentionally deceived by these false prophets. So...get the picture here: Famine was in Israel, the people began to call upon God, but the people refused to forsake their worship of false gods. Jeremiah called upon the people to repent and turn to the worship of God and only God; he was a minority voice. There were simultaneously an endless supply of false prophets who told the people that times would get better. Seeking positive news, the people chose to believe the false prophets rather than ol' doomsday-preachin' Jeremiah. Here's what God told Jeremiah in verse 14, "And the LORD said to me, 'The prophets prophesy lies in My name.'" It's clear: The first step to avoiding judgment from God is to obey God. Nothing else will do.
Jeremiah further expresses his grief over Judah in verses 17-18. Then in 19-22, Jeremiah continues to plead with God for a stay of judgment against Judah. We'll see God's reply to Jeremiah's plea in chapter 15.
No turning back now! (Jeremiah 15:1-9)
1 Then the LORD said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.
2 And it shall be, if they say to you, “Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, “Thus says the LORD:
‘Such as are for death, to death;
And such as are for the sword, to the sword;
And such as are for the famine, to the famine;
And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.” ’
3 ¶ “And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the LORD: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.
4 I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5 “For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?
Or who will bemoan you?
Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?
6 You have forsaken Me,” says the LORD,
“You have gone backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
I am weary of relenting!
7 And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;
I will bereave them of children;
I will destroy My people,
Since they do not return from their ways.
8 Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them,
Against the mother of the young men,
A plunderer at noonday;
I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them suddenly.
9 “She languishes who has borne seven;
She has breathed her last;
Her sun has gone down
While it was yet day;
She has been ashamed and confounded.
And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword
Before their enemies,” says the LORD.
At the end of chapter 14, we saw Jeremiah pleading with God on behalf of his people. Chapter 15 begins with God's reply to Jeremiah's plea.
Not even famous personalities from the past (like Moses or Samuel, verse 1) can thwart the judgment of God on Judah. Severe judgment is coming because of their sin of turning their backs on God. The last good king in Judah was Josiah. Jeremiah prophesied during the reigns of the last 5 kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. Judah fell completely under Zedekiah.
King Manasseh's mention in verse 4 is significant. He followed the reign of his father, the good King Hezekiah, but Manasseh was very evil, as was his son Amon. Josiah followed his father, Amon, with his reforms toward God. However, Josiah only provided a temporary reprieve from God's judgment.
Notice what is said regarding Josiah and Manasseh in II Kings 23:25-27 (see notes):
25 Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.
26 Nevertheless the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.
27 And the LORD said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’ ”
After Josiah's death, there were no more good kings. Manasseh is credited here with the evilness that kicked off the final rebellion of Judah, even though Josiah had followed God and had instituted some reforms. Let's face it, the lingering effect of the godless leadership of Manasseh still plagued Judah. Because of the wicked rule of Manasseh, deportation of Judah's influential people would follow. Jeremiah's word from God continues in verse 7, "I will destroy My people, Since they do not return from their ways."
Jeremiah complains about his working conditions (Jeremiah 15:10-21)
10 Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.
11 ¶ The LORD said:
“Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
12 Can anyone break iron,
The northern iron and the bronze?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
14 And I will make you cross over with your enemies
Into a land which you do not know;
For a fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”
15 O LORD, You know;
Remember me and visit me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,
As waters that fail?
19 ¶ Therefore thus says the LORD:
“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall stand before Me;
If you take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall;
And they will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the LORD.
21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Beginning here in verse 10, Jeremiah follows God's decree upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem with a little bit of complaining about his own set of personal circumstances. His moaning continues down through verse 18. God addresses Jeremiah's complaint in verses 19-21.
"These people, my own people, don't like me," Jeremiah complained. Let's face it, when all you do is prophesy that the people to whom you minister are going to crash and burn, you're not likely to be very popular. On top of that, the false prophets continually told the people exactly what they wanted to hear - a message of relief and prosperity. The people loved them. How much does this sound just like politics of today? What's interesting here is that God does not offer any relief for Jeremiah. Telling the truth is a tough job, but it was the job God called Jeremiah to do.
Jeremiah's complaining to God is seen beginning in verse 10 where he laments his own birth. He is assured by God that the "northern iron" (aka Babylonians) will overcome Judah just as Jeremiah had been prophesying. He is assured by God that even Judah's enemies would eventually come asking for his counsel. In verse 15, Jeremiah asks for revenge upon those of his own people who persecute him. He treasured God's word (verse 16), and yet he was all alone (verse 17). Yet, Jeremiah has the promise of God in verse 21, "I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible."
The doom-and-gloom message intensifies (Jeremiah 16:1-13)
1 The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,
2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.”
3 For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land:
4 “They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”
5 ¶ For thus says the LORD: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the LORD, “lovingkindness and mercies.
6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
7 Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother.
8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
9 ¶ For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
10 ¶ “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’
11 then you shall say to them, “Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the LORD; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law.
12 And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.
13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’
Jeremiah's complaining in chapter 15 didn't take. God instructs him to pour it on even thicker than before. Look those Jews in the eyes and tell them that, because of the spiritual adultery committed by their fathers and them, they are headed for certain destruction. But that's not all the bad news for Jeremiah. God forbids him to marry. The normal state of existence for a Jewish man during that time was to have a wife. However, the urgency of the situation in Judah during this time was such that God told Jeremiah that he could not be encumbered with the responsibility of caring for a wife. Furthermore, we see that Jeremiah was forbidden by God to even socialize with his Jewish brethren - or even go to their funerals (verses 4-5). He had to be in a position to warn the people of the consequences of their sin without the constraints of friendship with the wicked Jewish populace. When they ask Jeremiah why he considers them to be so wicked, he's to point out that it's because their fathers were wicked, and they themselves are even more wicked (verses 10-12). And here's that unpopular warning in verse 13, "Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor."
Finally, a promise of restoration (Jeremiah 16:14-21)
14 ¶ “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’
15 but, “The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.
16 ¶ “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
17 For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.
18 And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”
19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
20 Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?
21 “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,
I will cause them to know
My hand and My might;
And they shall know that My name is the LORD.
The hunters and fishermen (verse 16) are the pagan conquerors who were to be God’s instruments for chastising Israel. Yeah, but the people were really looking for a message from Jeremiah that would tell them that things were going to improve - not a message that Judah would collapse before things improved. However, Jeremiah didn't make the news, he just reported it. And that news was not good as seen in verse 18, "And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols." Judah would be judged for their wickedness...period.
This section ends with a restoration which surely is Messianic based upon our knowledge of history. The Gentiles who overrun Judah will realize that their gods are false. Notice verse 21, "Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD." That, in fact, will happen in Revelation 19:11-21 (see notes) at the Battle of Armageddon. While Judah did return to the land from their Babylonian exile beginning in 535 B.C., this reference seems to speak of a time where the Messiah is in control. The notion of nations coming to Judah at some future point to seek the true God, is found also in Isaiah 2:2-4 (see notes); Micah 4:1-7 (see notes); Habakkuk 2:14 (see notes); all of these references are clearly Messianic.
The people of Judah: big-time sinners (Jeremiah 17:1-13)
1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron;
With the point of a diamond it is engraved
On the tablet of their heart,
And on the horns of your altars,
2 While their children remember
Their altars and their wooden images
By the green trees on the high hills.
3 O My mountain in the field,
I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,
And your high places of sin within all your borders.
4 And you, even yourself,
Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;
And I will cause you to serve your enemies
In the land which you do not know;
For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”
5 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
11 “As a partridge that broods but does not hatch,
So is he who gets riches, but not by right;
It will leave him in the midst of his days,
And at his end he will be a fool.”
12 A glorious high throne from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
“Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the LORD,
The fountain of living waters.”
Their sin was indelibly written on their hearts. The metaphor used here of the iron pen with the diamond tip paints them as deeply entrenched in their God-rejecting, idolatrous ways; they would not turn back. There are a couple (yea, even three) general-use verses in this passage. Notice the warning of verse 5, "Thus says the LORD: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.'" And why is that? Look at verse 9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" That's that ol' Adamic nature at work in each person (see notes on Romans 5:12-21). But if you're looking for some consolation, consult verse 7, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD." Verse 13 makes it very clear that it is because of Judah's rejection of God that God has rejected them.
Jeremiah: Lord, I could use a little vindication here (Jeremiah 17:14-18)
14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.
15 Indeed they say to me,
“Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come now!”
16 As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,
Nor have I desired the woeful day;
You know what came out of my lips;
It was right there before You.
17 Do not be a terror to me;
You are my hope in the day of doom.
18 Let them be ashamed who persecute me,
But do not let me be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed,
But do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of doom,
And destroy them with double destruction!
Hey! Jeremiah is thinking (and saying) exactly what I would be thinking and saying in his situation, "It surely would be nice if you would go ahead and show them that they're wrong and I'm right." These people are saying to Jeremiah in verse 15, "God's judgment? Bring it on!" Hey! they're mocking him! As a matter of fact, it looks like Jeremiah is pretty fed up with his rebellious people in verse 18, "Let them be ashamed who persecute me, But do not let me be put to shame; Let them be dismayed, But do not let me be dismayed. Bring on them the day of doom, And destroy them with double destruction! " So much for the kind and gentle approach to prophesying. People today might think Jeremiah a bit too harsh and outspoken to have an effective ministry. Listen; Jeremiah spoke what God told him to speak; it wasn't a popular message.
There's no question, because of the taunting of Jeremiah by those wicked people, Jeremiah is asking God to go ahead and vindicate him. By the way, Jeremiah's vindication is coming, but on God's timetable, not Jeremiah's.
Another tough job for Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:19-27)
19 ¶ Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;
20 and say to them, “Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates.
21 Thus says the LORD: “Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
22 nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
23 But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.
24 ¶ “And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully,” says the LORD, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it,
25 then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever.
26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the LORD.
27 ¶ “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” ’ ”
The people of Judah/Jerusalem already ignore him - even despise him for his negative messages. Prophesying is tough work. Well, God gives Jeremiah another tough assignment; go to the gates of Jerusalem and rag the people for forsaking the observance of the Sabbath day. This observance was uniquely Jewish; it separated them from the rest of the pagan world, but they had forsaken its observance. His message: if you don't listen, fire will devour this place. Did they listen? No!
Look! This is fascinating - another offer from God if these corrupt folks will repent. Look at verses 24-27. Do right by God and he'll fix everything! Remember, however, Isaiah had prophesied 100 or so years earlier that they would not repent...and they didn't. Isaiah prophesied Jerusalem's fall to the Babylonians in Isaiah 39 (see notes).