The prophecy contained in Jer. 1112 seems to belong to an early period of Jeremiahs life. The covenant Jer 11:2<\/span> was that renewed by Josiah in his 18th year, after the discovery of the Book of the Law in the temple 2Ki 23:3<\/span>; while Jer 11:13<\/span> apparently refers to the public establishment of idolatry by Manasseh Jer 21:3<\/span>. The people took no hearty part in Josiahs reformation, and the prophet therefore sets before them the consequences that will inevitably fellow upon their disloyalty to their covenant-God. The prophecy was probably called forth by the conspiracy of the men of Judah and of his own relatives of Anathoth to murder Jeremiah Jer 11:18-23<\/span>; Jer 12:1-6<\/span>, for such deeds, which but too well represented the nations whole course, punishment must come, if unrepented of.<\/P> <\/p>\n CHAPTER XI <\/P> The prophet proclaims the tenor of God’s covenant with the Jews<\/I><\/P> of old<\/I>, 1-5;<\/P> and then reproves them for their hereditary disobedience<\/I>, 6-19.<\/P> In consequence of this the Almighty is introduced, declaring he<\/I><\/P> will show them no pity<\/I>, 11-13;<\/P> forbidding Jeremiah to intercede<\/I>, 14;<\/P> rejecting their sacrifices<\/I>, 15;<\/P> and in a word, condemning this fair but unfruitful tree to the<\/I><\/P> fire<\/I>, 16, 17.<\/P> In what remains of the chapter the prophet predicts evil to his<\/I><\/P> neighbours of Anathoth, who had conspired against him<\/I>, 18-23.<\/P> “Let us,” said they, “destroy this tree, with the fruit<\/I><\/P> thereof,” &c., alluding to what Jeremiah had said in the<\/I><\/P> sixteenth verse.<\/I> <\/P> NOTES ON CHAP. XI<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. The word that came to Jeremiah<\/B><\/I>] This discourse is supposed to have been delivered in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah. See Dahler<\/I>.<\/P> <\/p>\n What time and in what manner this revelation came from God to the prophet is not expressed, whether it were in the days of Josiah or Jehoiakim. <\/P> <\/p>\n The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying.<\/strong> Here seems to begin a new prophecy; but when it was, and under what reign, and what time between this and the former, is not known; however, it was from the Lord, and so to be regarded.<\/p>\n Judah’s Disloyalty to the Covenant, with the Consequences Thereof<\/p>\n In Jer 11:2-8<\/span> is a short summary of the covenant made with the fathers; in Jer 11:9-13<\/span> is an account of the breaking of this covenant by Judah, and of the calamity which results therefrom; and in Jer 11:14-17<\/span> further description of this calamity.<\/p>\n Jer 11:1-8<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> “The word which came to Jeremiah from Jahveh, saying: <\/em> Jer 11:2<\/span>. Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, <\/em> Jer 11:3<\/span>. And say thou to them: Thus hath Jahve, the God of Israel, said: Cursed is the man that heareth not the words of this covenant, <\/em> Jer 11:4<\/span>. Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying: Hearken to my voice, and do them according to all which I command you; so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God; <\/em> Jer 11:5<\/span>. 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. And I answered and said: So be it, Jahveh. <\/em> Jer 11:6<\/span>. Then said Jahveh to 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. <\/em> Jer 11:7<\/span>. For I have testified to your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt unto this day, testifying from early morning on: Hearken to my voice! <\/em> Jer 11:8<\/span>. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked each in the stubbornness of their evil heart; and so I brought on them all the words of this covenant which I have commanded them to do, and they have not done them.”<\/em> <\/p>\n The form of address, Jer 11:2<\/span>: hear ye ( ), and speak ye ( ), is noteworthy since we are not told who are to hear and speak; while at Jer 11:3<\/span>, in Jeremiah receives the commission to declare the words of the covenant to the people, and to make known in the cities of Judah, etc. (Jer 11:6<\/span>). The difficulty is not removed by the plan adopted by Hitz. and Graf from the lxx, of changing into , “and speak them;” for the remains to be dealt with. To whom then, is it addressed? Schleussner proposed to change it into – a purely arbitrary change. In Jer 11:4<\/span> “hearing” is used in the sense of giving ear to, obeying. And in no other sense can it be taken in Jer 11:1<\/span>. “The words of this covenant” are, as is clear from the succeeding context, the words of the covenant recorded in the Pentateuch, known from the reading of the Torah. The call to hear the words thereof can only have the meaning of: to give ear to them, take them to heart. Hence Chr. B. Mich. and Schnur. have referred the words to the Jews: Listen, ye Jews and ye citizens of Jerusalem, to the words of the covenant, and make them know to one another, and exhort one another to observe them. But this paraphrase is hardly consistent with the wording of the verse. Others fancied that the priests and elders were addressed; but if so, these must necessarily have been named. Clearly it is to the prophets in general that the words are spoken, as Kimchi observed; and we must not take “hear ye” as if the covenant was unknown to the prophets, but as intended to remind the prophets of them, that they might enforce them upon the people. Taken thus, this introductory verse serves to exalt the importance of the truths mentioned, to mark them out as truths which God had commanded all the prophets to proclaim. If it be the prophets in general who are addressed in Jer 11:2<\/span>, the transition to “and say thou” is easily explained. Jeremiah, too, must himself do that which was the bounden duty of all the prophets, must make the men of Judah and Jerusalem call to mind the curse overhanging transgressors of the covenant. The words: Cursed is the man, etc., are taken from Deu 27:26<\/span>, from the directions for the engagement to keep the covenant, which the people were to solemnise upon their entry into Canaan, and which, acc. to Jos 8:30<\/span>., they did solemnise. The quotation is made freely from memory. Instead of “that heareth not the words of this covenant,” we find in Deut. l.c<\/em>.: “the confirmeth not ( ) the words of this law to do them.” The choice there of the word is suggested by its connection with the act of solemnisation enjoined. The recitation and promulgation of the law upon Mount Gerizim and Ebal (Deut 27) had no other aim than that of solemnly binding the people to keep or follow the law; and this is what Jeremiah means by “hearing.” The law to be established is the law of the covenant, i.e., the covenant made by Jahveh with Israel, and spoken of in Deu 28:68<\/span> and Deu 29:8<\/span> as the “words of this covenant.” This covenant, which Moses had made with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab (Deu 28:68<\/span>), was but a renewal of that solemnly concluded at Sinai (Ex 24). And so Jeremiah speaks of this covenant as the one which Jahveh commanded the fathers in the day, i.e., at the time, of their leaving Egypt. “In the day that,” etc., as in Jer 7:22<\/span>. “Out of the iron furnace:” this metaphor for the affliction endured by Israel in Egypt is taken from Deu 4:20<\/span>. The words: hearken unto my voice and do them<\/em> (the words of the covenant), suggest Deu 27:1-2<\/span>; and the words: so shall ye be my people, suggest Deu 29:12<\/span>, a passage which itself points back to ex. Jer 6:7<\/span> (Jer 19:5<\/span>.), Lev 27:12<\/span>; Deu 7:6<\/span>, etc. That I may establish, i.e., perform, the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, i.e., the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deu 7:8<\/span>, etc.), promising to give them a land flowing, etc. The frequently repeated description of the promised land; cf. Exo 3:8<\/span>, Exo 3:17<\/span>; Deu 6:3<\/span>, etc. , as in Deu 2:30<\/span>; Deu 4:20<\/span>, etc., is not: at this time, now (Graf), but: as this day, meaning: as is even now the case, sc. that ye still possess this precious land. The assenting reply of the prophet: , yea, or so be it ( , lxx), Lord, corresponds to the with which the people, acc. to Deu 27:15<\/span>., were to take on themselves the curses attached to the breaking of the law, curses which they did take on themselves when the law was promulgated in Canaan. As the whole congregation did on that occasion, so here the prophet, by his “yea,” expresses his adherence to the covenant, and admits that the engagement is yet in full force for the congregation of God; and at the same time indicates that he, on his part, is ready to labour for the fulfilment of the covenant, so that the people may not become liable to the curse of the law.<\/p>\n Jer 11:6-8<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Having set forth the curse to which transgressors of the law are exposed, God commands the prophet to proclaim the words of the covenant to the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, and to call upon them to do these. “All these words” are those subsequently specified, i.e., the commandments of the law (cf. Jer 11:2<\/span>). Jeremiah is to proclaim these, because, in spite of unremitting exhortation to hear and give heed to the voice of the Lord, the fathers had paid no regard thereto. , not: read aloud (Hitz., Graf), but: proclaim, make known, as in Jer 2:2<\/span>; Jer 3:12<\/span>, etc. with , to testify against any one, equivalent to: solemnly to enforce on one with importunate counsel and warning; cf. Deu 30:19<\/span>; Psa 50:7<\/span>, etc. On , see at Jer 7:13<\/span>. – But they have not hearkened, Jer 11:8<\/span><\/em>, running almost literally in the words of Jer 7:24<\/span>. “And I brought upon them,” etc., i.e., inflicted upon them the punishments with which transgressors of the law were threatened, which curses had been, in the case of the greater part of the people, the ten tribes, carried to the extreme length, i.e., to the length of their banishment from their own land into the midst of the heathen; cf. 2Ki 17:13<\/span>.<\/p>\n Jer 11:9-13<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> The people’s breach of the covenant, and the consequences of this. – <\/em> Jer 11:9<\/span>. “And Jahveh said unto me: Conspiracy is found among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. <\/em> Jer 11:10<\/span>. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to give ear to my words, and they are gone 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. <\/em> Jer 11:11<\/span>. Behold, I bring evil upon them, from which they cannot escape; and though they cry to me, I will not hear them. <\/em> Jer 11:12<\/span>. And the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall go and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense, but they shall not help them in the time of their trouble. <\/em> Jer 11:13<\/span>. For as many as are thy cities, so many are thy gods become, O Judah; and as many as are the streets of Jerusalem, so many altars have ye set up to Shame, altars to offer odours to Baal.”<\/p>\n <\/em> Jeremiah is once more to enforce the words of the covenant upon the people, because they have broken the covenant, returned to the idolatry of the fathers. Conspiracy is found, is to be seen. The people’s defection from Jahveh, their breach of faith towards the covenant God, is called conspiracy, because it had become as universal as if it had been initiated by a formal preconcertment. “The former fathers,” forefathers of the people, are the Israelites under Moses, who broke the covenant by idolatry while still at Sinai, and those of the time of the Judges. With the subject is changed; “they” are not the forefathers, but the prophet’s contemporaries. In the last clause of Jer 11:10<\/span> is comprehended the apostasy of the whole people: Like Israel, Judah too has broken the covenant. Israel has been punished for this by being cast out among the heathen, the like doom awaits Judah.<\/p>\n Jer 11:11-13<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Because of the covenant broken, the Lord will bring on Judah and Jerusalem evil out of which they shall not come forth, i.e., not merely, from which they shall not escape safely, but: in which they shall find no way of rescue; for it in this calamity they cry to the Lord, He will not hear them. Nor will the gods whom they serve, i.e., the false gods, help them then. As to “as many as are,” etc., see on Jer 2:28<\/span>. “(The) Shame,” i.e., Baal, as at Jer 3:24<\/span>.<\/p>\n Jer 11:14-17<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Neither entreaty on their behalf nor their hypocritical worship will avert judgment. – <\/em> Jer 11:14<\/span>. “But thou, pray not for this people, neither lift up for them cry or prayer; for I hear them not in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. <\/em> Jer 11:15<\/span>. What would my beloved in my house? they who practise guile? Shall vows and holy flesh remove they calamity from thee? then mayest thou exult. <\/em> Jer 11:16<\/span>. A green olive, fair for its goodly fruit, Jahveh called thy name; with the noise of great tumult He set fire to it, and its branches brake. <\/em> Jer 11:17<\/span>. And Jahveh of hosts, that planted thee, hath decreed evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah which they themselves have done, to provoke me, in that they have offered odours to Baal.”<\/em> <\/p>\n We have already, in Jer 7:16<\/span>, met with the declaration that the Lord will not accept any intercession for the covenant-breaking people (Jer 11:14<\/span>); the termination of this verse differs slightly in the turn to takes. – the ancient commentators have almost unanimously rendered: tempore mali eorum <\/em>, as if they had read (this is, in fact, the reading of some codd.); but hardly on sufficient grounds. gives a suitable sense, with the force of the Greek , which, like the German um <\/em>, passes into the sense of wegen <\/em>, as the English about<\/em> passes into that of concerning<\/em>. – In Jer 11:15-17<\/span> we have the reason why the Lord will hear neither the prophet’s supplication nor the people’s cry in their time of need. Jer 11:15<\/span> is very obscure; and from the Masoretic text it is hardly possible to obtain a suitable sense. “The beloved” of Jahveh is Judah, the covenant people; cf. Deu 33:12<\/span>, where Benjamin is so called, and Jer 12:7<\/span>, where the Lord calls His people . “What is to my beloved in my house?” i.e., what has my people to do in my house – what does it want there? “My house” is the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, as appears from the mention of holy flesh in the second clause. The main difficulty lies in the words . Hitz. takes to be the subject of the clause, and makes the suffix point back to , which, as collective, is to be construed generis faem <\/em>.: what should the accomplishment of his plans be to my beloved in my house? But as adverse to this we must note, a<\/em>. the improbability of as used of the people being feminine; b<\/em>. the fact that even if we adopt Hitz.’s change of into , yet the latter word does not mean plans or designs to bring offerings. The phrase is clearly to be taken by itself as a continuation of the question; and the suffix to be regarded, with Ew., Umbr., etc., as pointing, in the Aramaic fashion, to the object following: they who practise guile. , a thinking out, devising, usually of hurtful schemes, here guile, as in Psa 139:20<\/span>; Job 21:27<\/span>. What is meant is the hypocrisy of cloaking their apostasy from God by offering sacrifices in the temple, of concealing their idolatry and passing themselves off as worshippers of Jahve. On the form , see Ew. 173, g<\/em>, Gesen. 80, Rem. 2,f. makes no sense. It belongs manifestly to the words which follow; for it can neither be subject to , nor can it be joined to as its genitive. The lxx render: ; and following this, Dathe, Dahl., Ew., Hitz. hold to be the original reading. On the other hand, Maur., Graf, and Ng. think we should read (after Psa 32:7<\/span>) or myinirah , crying, loud supplication; on the ground of Buxtorf’s hint, Anticrit<\/em>. p. 661, that probably the Alexandrians had in their text, but, changing the for , read . We must make our choice between these two conjectures; for even if did not stand in the codex used by the Alexandrians, it cannot have been the original word. The form is, indeed, sufficiently attested by , Psa 32:7<\/span>; but the meaning of exultation which it has there is here wholly out of place. And we find no case of a plural to , which means both exultation and piteous, beseeching cry (e.g., Jer 7:16<\/span>). So that, although is in the lxx occasionally rendered by (Jer 11:14<\/span>; Jer 14:12<\/span>, etc.) or (1Ki 8:28<\/span>), we prefer the conjecture ; for “vow” is in better keeping with “holy flesh,” i.e., flesh of sacrifice, Hag 2:12<\/span>, since the vow was generally carried out by offering sacrifice. – Nor do the following words, ‘ , convey any meaning, without some alteration. As quoted above, they may be translated: shall pass away from thee. But this can mean neither: they shall be torn from thee, nor: they shall disappoint thee. And even if this force did lie in the words, no statement can begin with the following gniwollo . If this be a protasis, the verb is wanting. We shall have to change it, after the manner of the lxx, to : shall vows and holy flesh (sacrifice) avert thine evil from thee? For the form as Hiph. cf. , Jer 9:2<\/span>. “Thine evil” with the double force: thy sin and shame, and the disaster impending, i.e., sin and (judicial) suffering. There is no occasion for any further changes. , rendered by the lxx, and so read by them, may be completely vindicated: then, i.e., if this were the case, if thou couldst avert calamity by sacrifice, then mightest thou exult. Thus we obtain the following as the sense of the whole verse: What mean my people in my temple with their hypocritical sacrifices? Can vows and offerings, presented by you there, avert calamity from you? If it could be so, well might you shout for joy.<\/p>\n Jer 11:16-17<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> This idea is carried on in Jer 11:16<\/span>, Jer 11:17<\/span>. Judah (Israel) was truly a noble planting of God’s, but by defection from the Lord, its God and Creator, it has drawn down on itself this ruin. Jahveh called Judah a green olive with splendid fruit. For a comparison of Israel to an olive, cf. Hos 14:7<\/span>, Ps. 52:10; Psa 128:3<\/span>. The fruit of the tree is the nation in its individual members. The naming of the name is the representation of the state of the case, and so here: the growth and prosperity of the people. The contrasted state is introduced by ‘ without adversative particle, and is thus made to seem the more abrupt and violent (Hitz.). Noise of tumult ( , occurring besides here only in Eze 1:24<\/span> as equivalent to ), i.e., of the tumult of war, cf. Isa 13:4<\/span>; not: roar of the thunderstorm or crash of thunder (Ng. , Graf). for (OT:871a), cf. Jer 17:27<\/span>; Jer 21:14<\/span>, etc. The suffix is regulated by the thing represented by the olive, i.e., Judah as a kingdom. Its branches brake; , elsewhere only transitive, here intransitive, analogously to in Isa 42:4<\/span>. Hitz. renders less suitably: its branches look bad, as being charred, robbed of their gay adornment. On this head cf. Eze 31:12<\/span>. The setting of fire to the olive tree Israel came about through its enemies, who broke up one part of the kingdom after the other, who had already destroyed the kingdom of the ten tribes, and were now about to destroy Judah next. That the words apply not to Judah only, but to Israel as well, appears from Jer 11:17<\/span>, where the Lord, who has planted Israel, is said to have spoken, i.e., decreed evil for the sin of the two houses, Israel and Judah. is not directly = decree, but intimates also the utterance of the decree by the prophet. after is dat. incomm<\/em>.: the evil which they have done to their hurt; cf. Jer 44:3<\/span>, where the dative is wanting. Hitz. finds in an intimation of voluntary action, as throwing back the deed upon the subject as an act of free choice; cf. Ew. 315, a<\/em>.<\/p>\n Charges against Judah.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 606.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD<\/B>, saying, 2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD<\/B> God of Israel; Cursed be<\/I> the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, 4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that<\/I> 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: 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<\/I> this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD<\/B>. 6 Then the LORD<\/B> 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. 7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that<\/I> I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even<\/I> unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. 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<\/I> to do; but they did them<\/I> not. 9 And the LORD<\/B> said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 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.<\/P> The prophet here, as prosecutor in God’s name, draws up an indictment against the Jews for wilful disobedience to the commands of their rightful Sovereign. For the more solemn management of this charge,<\/P> I. He produces the commission he had to draw up the charge against them. He did not take pleasure in accusing the children of his people, but God commanded him to speak it to the men of Judah,<\/I>Jer 11:1<\/span>; Jer 11:2<\/span>. In the original it is plural: Speak you this.<\/I> For what he said to Jeremiah was the same that he gave in charge to all his servants the prophets. They none of them said any other than what Moses, in the law, had said; to that therefore they must refer themselves, and direct the people: “Hear the words of this covenant;<\/I> turn to your Bibles, be judged by them.” Jeremiah must now proclaim this in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,<\/I> that all may hear, for all are concerned. All the words of reproof and conviction which the prophets spoke were grounded upon the words of the covenant,<\/I> and agreed with that; and therefore “hear these words,<\/I> and understand by them upon what terms you stood with God at first; and then, by comparing yourselves with the covenant, you will soon be aware upon what terms you now stand with him.”<\/P> II. He opens the charter upon which their state was founded and by which they held their privileges. They had forgotten the tenour of it, and lived as if they thought that the grant was absolute and that they might do what they pleased and yet have what God had promised, or as if they thought that the keeping up of the ceremonial observances was all that God required of them. He therefore shows them, with all possible plainness, that the thing God insisted upon was obedience,<\/I> which was better than sacrifice.<\/I> He said, Obey my voice,<\/I> v.<\/span> 4<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span> and again v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>. “Own God for your Master; give up yourselves to him as his subjects and servants; attend to all the declarations of his mind and will, and make conscience of complying with them. Do my commandments,<\/I> not only in some things, but according to all which I command you;<\/I> make conscience of moral duties especially, and rest not in those that are merely ritual; hear the words of the covenant, and do them.” 1. This was the original contract between God and them, when he first formed them into a people. It was what he commanded their fathers<\/I> when he first brought them forth out of the land of Egypt,<\/I>Jer 11:4<\/span>; Jer 11:7<\/span>. He never intended to take them under his guidance and protection upon any other terms. This was what he required from them in gratitude for the great things he did for them when he brought them from the iron furnace.<\/I> He redeemed them out of the service of the Egyptians, which was perfect slavery, that he might take them into his own service, which is perfect freedom, Luk 1:74<\/span>; Luk 1:75<\/span>. 2. This was not only laid before them then, but it was with the greatest importunity imaginable pressed upon them, v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>. God not only commanded it, but earnestly protested it to their fathers,<\/I> when he brought them into covenant with himself. Moses inculcated it again and again, by precept upon precept and line upon line. 3. This was made the condition of the relation between and God, which was so much their honour and privilege: “So shall you be my people and I will be your God;<\/I> I will own you for mine, and you may call upon me as yours;” this intimates that, if they refused to obey, they could no longer claim the benefit of the relation. 4. It was upon these terms that the land of Canaan was given them for a possession: Obey my voice, that I may perform the oath sworn to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey,<\/I> v.<\/span> 5<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. God was ready to fulfil the promise, but then they must fulfil the condition; if not, the promise is void, and it is just with God to turn them out of possession. Being brought in upon their good behaviour, they had no wrong done them if they were turned out upon their ill behaviour. Obedience was the rent reserved by the lease, with a power to re-enter for non-payment. 5. This obedience was not only made a condition of the blessing, but was required under the penalty of a curse. This is mentioned first here (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>), that they might, if possible, be awakened by the terrors of the Lord: Cursed be the man,<\/I> though it were but a single person, that obeys not the words of this covenant,<\/I> much more when it is the body of the nation that rebels. There are curses of the covenant as well as blessings: and Moses set before them not only life and good,<\/I> but death and evil<\/I> (Deut. xxx. 15<\/span>), so that they had fair warning given them of the fatal consequences of disobedience. 6. Lest this covenant should be forgotten, and, because out of mind, should be thought out of date, God had from time to time called to them to remember it, and by his servants the prophets had made a continual claim of this rent, so that they could not plead, in excuse of their non-payment, that it had never been demanded; from the day when he brought them out of Egypt to this day<\/I> (and that was nearly 1000 years) he had been, in one way or other, at sundry times and in divers manners,<\/I> protesting to them the necessity of obedience. God keeps an account how long we have enjoyed the means of grace and how powerful those means have been, how often we have been not only spoken to, but protested to, concerning our duty. 7. This covenant was consented to (v.<\/I><\/span> 5<\/span>): Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord!<\/I> These are the words of the prophet, expressing either, (1.) His own consent to the covenant for himself, and his desire to have the benefit of it. God promised Canaan to the obedient: “Lord,” says he, “I take thee at thy word, I will be obedient; let me have my inheritance in the land of promise, of which Canaan is a type.” Or, (2.) His good will, and good wish, that his people might have the benefit of it. “Amen;<\/I> Lord, let them still be kept in possession of this good land, and not turned out of it; make good the promise to them.” Or, (3.) His people’s consent to the covenant: “Then answered I,<\/I> in the name of the people, So be it.<\/I>” Taking it in this sense, it refers to the declared consent which the people gave to the covenant, not only to the precepts of it when they said, All that the Lord shall say unto us we will do and will be obedient,<\/I> but to the penalties when they said Amen<\/I> to all the curses upon Mount Ebal. The more solemnly we have engaged ourselves to God the more reason we have to hope that the engagement will be perpetual; and yet here it did not prove so.<\/P> III. He charges them with breach of covenant, such a breach as amounted to a forfeiture of their charter, v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>. God had said again and again, by his law and by his prophets, “Obey my voice,<\/I> do as you are bidden, and all shall be well;” yet they obeyed not;<\/I> and, because they were resolved not to submit their souls to God’s commandments, they would not so much as incline their ears to them, but got as far as they could out of call: They walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart,<\/I> followed their own inventions; every man did as his fancy and humour led him, right or wrong, lawful or unlawful, both in their devotions and in their conversations; see ch.<\/I><\/span> vii. 24<\/span>. What then could they expect, but to fall under the curse of the covenant, since they would not comply with the commands and conditions of it? Therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant,<\/I> that is, all the threatenings contained in it, because they did not what they were commanded.<\/I> Note, The words of the covenant shall not fall to the ground. If we do not by our obedience qualify ourselves for the blessings of it, we shall by our disobedience bring ourselves under the curses of it. That which aggravated their defection from God, and rebellion against him, was that it was general, and as it were by consent,<\/I>Jer 11:9<\/span>; Jer 11:10<\/span>. Jeremiah himself saw that many lived in open disobedience to God, but the Lord told him that the matter was worse than he thought of: A conspiracy is found among them,<\/I> by him whose eye is upon the hidden works of darkness. There is a combination against God and religion, a dangerous design formed to overthrow God’s government and bring in the pretenders, the counterfeit deities. This intimates that they were wilful and deliberate in wickedness (they rebelled against God, not through incogitancy, but presumptuously, and with a high hand),–that they were subtle and ingenious in wickedness, and carried on their plot against religion with a great deal of art and contrivance,–that they were linked together in the design, and, as is usual among conspirators, engaged to stand by one another in it and to live and die together; they were resolved to go through with it. A cursed conspiracy! O that there were not the like in our day! Observe, 1. What the conspiracy was. They designed to overthrow divine revelation, and set that aside, and persuade people not to hear, not to heed, the words of God. They did all they could to derogate from the authority of the scriptures and to lessen the value of them; they designed to draw people after other gods to serve them,<\/I> to consult them as their oracles and make court to them as their benefactors. Human reason shall be their god, a light within their god, an infallible judge their god, saints and angels their gods, the god of this or the other nation shall be theirs; thus, under several disguises, they are in the same confederacy against the Lord and against his anointed.<\/I> 2. Who were in conspiracy. One would have expected find some foreigners ring-leaders in it; but no, (1.) The inhabitants of Jerusalem<\/I> are in conspiracy with the men of Judah;<\/I> city and country agree in this, however they may differ in other things. (2.) Those of this generation seem to be in conspiracy with those of the foregoing generation, to carry on the war from age to age against religion: They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers,<\/I> and have risen up in their stead, a seed of evil-doers,<\/I> and increase of sinful men,<\/I> Num. xxxii. 14<\/I><\/span>. In Josiah’s time there had been a reformation, but after this death the people returned to the idolatries which then they had renounced. (3.) Judah and Israel, the kingdom of the ten tribes and that of the two, that were often at daggers–drawing one with another, were yet in a conspiracy to break the covenant God had made with their fathers,<\/I> even with the heads of all the twelve tribes. The house of Israel began the revolt, but the house of Judah soon came into the conspiracy. Now what else could be expected but that god should take severe methods, both for the chastising of the conspirators and the crushing of this conspiracy; for none ever hardened his heart thus against God and prospered? He that rolls this stone will find it return upon him.<\/P> <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n JEREMIAH – CHAPTER 11<\/p>\n JUDAH’S BREACH OF THE COVENANT<\/p>\n The position of covenant-relationship, to which Israel was exalted at Mt Sinai, placed upon her the responsibility of fidelity to the terms of that covenant. If Judah rejects her covenant-obligations, then she forfeits her right to the blessings offered those who walk in the sphere of covenant-fellowship with Jehovah, her God.<\/p>\n Most scholars view this prophetic message as being delivered in connection with the discovery of the scroll containing “the book of the law” (2Ki 22:8<\/span><\/strong>) in the temple (621 B.C.), and the reformation of religious life to which king Josiah called his people – requiring the rejection of every idol, to worship Jehovah alone as God.<\/p>\n Vs. 1-5: THE PRINCIPLES OF THE COVENANT RESTATED<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Jeremiah is commanded to hear the words of the covenant and to relay the essence of it to the men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, (comp. Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n