The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  3:19 put you among the children. Here is a reference to adoption into God’s family, when the people turn back from idols to acknowledge Him as “Father.”

  3:20 a wife treacherously departs. Hosea had earlier used this same imagery (ca. 755–710 B.C.). Thus God had given the divorce because the spiritual adultery was unrepentant. But when repentance comes, He will take Israel back (cf. 3:1). O…Israel. Since the irretrievable dispersion of Israel in the N (722 B.C.) Judah alone was left to be called by the name Israel, as Jeremiah sometimes chose to do (e.g., 3:20–23).

  Jeremiah 4

  4:3 “Break up…” Jeremiah appealed for a spiritual turnabout from sinful, wasteful lives. He pictured this as the plowing of ground, formerly hard and unproductive due to weeds, in order to make it useful for sowing (cf. Matt. 13:18–23).

  4:4 Circumcise. This surgery (Gen. 17:10–14) was to cut away flesh that could hold disease in its folds and could pass the disease on to wives. It was important for the preservation of God’s people physically. But it was also a symbol of the need for the heart to be cleansed from sin’s deadly disease. The really essential surgery needed to happen on the inside, where God calls for taking away fleshly things that keep the heart from being spiritually devoted to Him and from true faith in Him and His will. Jeremiah later expanded on this theme (31:31–34; cf. Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Rom. 2:29). God selected the reproductive organ as the location of the symbol for man’s need of cleansing for sin, because it is the instrument most indicative of his depravity, since by it he reproduces generations of sinners.

  4:6, 7 disaster from the north. This evil is Babylon’s army, which would invade from that direction. The “lion” on the prowl fit Babylon because of its conquering power, and Babylon was symbolized by the winged lions guarding its royal court. Babylon is later identified in 20:4. Many details in chap. 4 graphically depict warriors in conquest (vv. 7, 13, 29).

  4:10 deceived. Like Habakkuk (1:12–17), Jeremiah was horrified at these words of judgment, contrasting the prevailing hope of peace. God is sometimes described as if doing a thing He merely permits, such as allowing false prophets who delude themselves to also deceive a sinful people into thinking peace would follow (cf. 6:14; 8:11; 1 Kin. 22:21–24). God sees how people insist on their delusions, and lets it happen.

  4:14 wash. Jeremiah continued to appeal for a dealing with sin so that national destruction might be averted (v. 20), while there was still time to repent (cf. chaps. 7, 26).

  4:22 wise to do evil. Israelites were wise in doing evil but were dull in knowing to do the good, i.e., God’s will. Paul, applying the principle but turning it to the positive, wanted the believers at Rome to be wise to do good but unlearned in the skill of doing evil (Rom. 16:19).

  4:23 without form. Jeremiah may be borrowing the language, but the description in its context is not of creation in Gen. 1:2, but of judgment on the land of Israel and its cities (v. 20). The invader left it desolate of the previous form and void of inhabitants due to slaying and flight (v. 25). The heavens gave no light, possibly due to smoke from fires that were destroying cities (vv. 7, 20).

  Jeremiah 5

  5:1 find a man. The city was too sinful to have even one man who, by truth and justice, could qualify to be an advocate to secure pardon for Judah. Refusal to repent was the norm (v. 3) for the common people (v. 4) and for the leaders (v. 5).

  5:6 lion. Three animals which tear and eat their victims represented the invader: the lion (see note on 4:6, 7), the wolf, and the leopard, picturing vicious judgment on both poor (v. 4) and rich (v. 5).

  5:7 adultery. Often the idea of adultery is figurative for idolatry or political alliances (see note on 3:1), but the language here refers to physical adultery by men seeking out a harlot or going to neighbors’ wives (v. 8), thus violating the seventh commandment (Ex. 20:14).

  5:10 not the LORD’s. The people, depicted as vine branches to be destroyed (cf. 11:16, 17), did not genuinely know the Lord in a saving relationship, but had forsaken Him and given allegiance to other gods. The description of having eyes but not seeing, and ears but not hearing (v. 21) is used by Isaiah (6:9) and Jesus Christ (Matt. 13:13) for such false professors as these branches. Jesus also referred to false branches in John 15:2, 6 which were burned.

  5:14 My words…fire. The judgment of Judah prophesied in God’s Word by Jeremiah will bring destruction, but not elimination (v. 18), to the nation, cf. 23:29.

  5:22 sand…of the sea. God’s providential acts in the natural world such as 1) creating the seashore to prevent flooding, 2) giving rain at the appropriate times (v. 24), and 3) providing time for harvest (v. 24) are witness enough to the Lord’s reality and grace. As the nation turns away from God, He will take these unappreciated gifts away (v. 25).

  5:31 prophesy falsely. These included prophets with bogus messages, priests who asserted their own authority, and also followers who indulged such falseness. All are guilty before God.

  Jeremiah 6

  6:1 Tekoa…Beth Haccerem. Tekoa, the home of Amos, is 6 mi. S of Bethlehem. The location of Beth Haccerem (“vineyard house”) is unknown, but probably near Tekoa. As the enemy came from the N, the people would flee S. north. See note on 4:6, 7.

  6:3 shepherds. These were hostile leaders of the invading Babylonians, whose soldiers were compared with flocks.

  6:6 Cut down trees. A besieging tactic is described in which trees were used to build up ramps against the city walls.

  6:9 thoroughly glean. Unlike the benevolent practice of leaving food in the field for the poor to glean (Lev. 19:9, 10; Ruth 2:5–18), the Babylonians will leave no one when they “harvest” Judah.

  6:14 ‘Peace, peace!’ Wicked leaders among the prophets and priests (v. 13) proclaimed peace falsely and gave weak and brief comfort. They provided no true healing from the spiritual wound, not having discernment to deal with the sin and its effects (v. 15). The need was to return to obedience (v. 16). Cf. 8:11.

  6:16 Here is the image of travelers who are lost, stopping to inquire about the right way they once knew before they wandered so far off it.

  6:17 watchmen. Prophets.

  6:20 not acceptable. Using imported fragrances in their offerings did not make them sweetly acceptable to God when the worshipers rejected His word (v. 19).

  6:21 stumbling blocks. Cf. Is. 8:14; Matt. 21:44; 1 Pet. 2:8.

  6:22, 23 A description of the Babylonians.

  6:27–30 I have set you. God placed Jeremiah as a kind of assayer to test the people’s obedience. He also was a “fortress,” meaning a “tester” who works with metals. Their sin prevented them from being pure silver, but rather they were bronze, iron, lead, even impure silver, so that they failed the test.

  Jeremiah 7

  7:1 The word that came. This was Jeremiah’s first temple sermon (v. 2); another is found in chap. 26. God was aroused against the sins He names (vv. 6, 19), especially at His temple becoming a den of thieves (v. 11). The point of this message, however, was that if Israel would repent, even at this late hour, God would still keep the conqueror from coming (vv. 3, 7). They must reject lies such as the false hope that peace is certain, based on the reasoning that the Lord would never bring calamity on His own temple (v. 4). They must turn from their sins (v. 3, 5, 9), and end their hypocrisy (v. 10).

  7:7 the land…I gave…forever. God refers to the unconditional element of the land promise in the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12, 15, 17, 22).

  7:12 go…to…Shiloh. God calls them to return to Shiloh where the tabernacle dwelt along with the ark of the covenant. He permitted the Philistines to devastate that place (1 Sam. 4), and He is ready to do similarly with Jerusalem, the place of His temple (vv. 13, 14).

  7:13 rising up early. This refers to the daily ministry of the prophets (cf. v. 25).

  7:15 as I have cast out…Ephraim. Ephraim represents the northern kingdom of Israel, since it was the leading tribe (cf. 2 Kin. 17:23). As God exiled them to Assyria (ca. 722 B.C.), though they were more in number and power, so He
will do to the southern kingdom.

  7:16 do not pray. God told His spokesman not to pray for the people (cf. 11:14). He did not find Judah inclined to repent. Instead, He found the glib use of self-deluding slogans, such as in 7:4, and flagrant idol worship in v. 18 from a people insistent on not hearing (v. 27; 19:15). Cf. 1 John 5:16.

  7:18 the queen of heaven. Cf. 44:17–19, 25. The Jews were worshiping Ishtar, an Assyrian and Babylonian goddess also called Ashtoreth and Astarte, the wife of Baal or Molech. Because these deities symbolized generative power, their worship involved prostitution.

  7:22 I did not…command. Bible writers sometimes use apparent negation to make a comparative emphasis. What God commanded His people at the Exodus was not so much the offerings, as it was the heart obedience which prompted the offerings. See this comparative sense used elsewhere (Deut. 5:3; Hos. 6:6; 1 John 3:18).

  7:22, 23 offerings…sacrifices…Obey. Here is a crucial emphasis on internal obedience. Cf. Josh. 1:8; 1 Sam. 15:22; Prov. 15:8; 21:3; Is. 1:11–17; Hos. 6:6; Matt. 9:13.

  7:25 Cf. v. 13.

  7:29 Cut off your hair. This is a sign depicting God’s cutting the nation off and casting them into exile. Ezekiel used a similar illustration by cutting his hair (Ezek. 5:1–4). God never casts away the genuinely saved from spiritual salvation (John 6:37; 10:28, 29).

  7:31 burn their sons. Though God forbade this atrocity (Lev. 18:21; 20:2–5; Deut. 12:31), Israelites still offered babies as sacrifices at the high places of idol worship (Tophet) in the valley of Hinnom (S end of Jerusalem). They offered them to the fire god Molech, under the delusion that this god would reward them. See note on 19:6.

  7:32 Valley of Slaughter. God renamed the place because great carnage would be forthcoming in the Babylonian invasion.

  Jeremiah 8

  8:1 bring out the bones. Conquerors would ransack all the tombs to gain treasures and then humiliate the Jews by scattering the bones of the rich and honored in open spaces as a tribute to the superiority of their gods (v. 2).

  8:4 Jeremiah spoke of the natural instinct of one who falls, to get up, and one who leaves, to return, but Judah did not possess this instinct.

  8:5 backsliding. See note on 2:19.

  8:7 The instinct of the migratory birds leads them with unfailing regularity to return every spring from their winter homes. But God’s people will not return, though the winter of divine wrath is arriving.

  8:11 Cf. 4:10; 6:14.

  8:16 Dan. The territory of this tribe was on the northern border of the land, where the invasion would begin and sweep S.

  8:17 send serpents. This is a figurative picture of the Babylonian victors.

  8:19 far country. This is the cry of the exiled Jews that will come after they are taken captive into Babylon. They will wonder why God would let this happen to His land and people.

  8:20–22 we are not saved! The coming devastation is compared with the hopeless anguish when harvest time has passed but people are still in desperate need. Jeremiah identified with his people’s suffering (v. 21) as a man of tears (cf. 9:1), but saw a doom so pronounced that there was no remedy to soothe. There was no healing balm, the kind in abundance in Gilead (E of the Sea of Galilee), and no physician to cure (cf. Gen. 37:25; 43:11).

  Jeremiah 9

  9:1 waters…tears. Jeremiah cared so greatly that he longed for the relief of flooding tears or a place of retreat to be free of the burden of Judah’s sins for a while.

  9:2 A lodging place for travelers. Simple square buildings with an open court were built in remote areas to accommodate caravans. Though it would be lonely and filthy in the wilderness, Jeremiah preferred it to Jerusalem so as to be removed from the moral pollution of the people, which he described in vv. 3–8.

  9:3 do not know Me. See note on 5:10.

  9:15 wormwood. The Lord pictured the awful suffering of the judgment as wormwood, which had very bitter leaves. Their food would be bitterness, and their water as foul as gall, a poisonous herb.

  9:22 How galling to the Jews to hear that their carcasses will be trampled contemptuously.

  9:24 understands and knows Me. Nothing but a true knowledge of God can save the nation. Paul refers to this passage twice (cf. 1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17).

  9:26 Egypt…wilderness. A preview of God’s judgment of the nations detailed in chaps. 46–51. uncircumcised…heart. See note on 4:4.

  Jeremiah 10

  10:2 the signs of heaven. Gentiles worshiped celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, and stars.

  10:4 decorate. Idols were often carved from wood (v. 3) and ornamented with gold or silver (cf. v. 9). Some were molded from clay (Judg. 18:17; Is. 42:17). The context points out the impossibility (vv. 3–5) of such non-existent gods punishing or rewarding humans.

  10:7 King. God, who sovereignly created and controls all things (cf. vv. 12, 16; Deut. 4:35), is alone the eternal, living God (cf. Pss. 47, 145) worthy of trust. By contrast, earthly idols have to be fashioned by men (v. 9), and will perish (v. 15).

  10:9 Tarshish. Possibly a commercial port in southern Spain or on the island of Sardinia. Cf. Jon. 1:3. Uphaz. Location is uncertain.

  10:11–16 The true and living Creator God is again contrasted with dead idols.

  10:16 Portion of Jacob. God is the all sufficient source for His people (Num. 18:20), and He will not fail them as idols do (11:12). Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. To this nation, God gave His inheritance in covenant love.

  Jer. 10:16

  Object Lessons

  The Linen Sash (13:1-11)

  The Vessel Marred and Remade (18:1-11)

  The Vessel Dashed upon the Rocks (19:10-11)

  Two Baskets of Figs (24:1-10)

  The Wooden and Iron Yokes (chaps. 27, 28)

  The Purchase of Land (32:6-44)

  The Stones in Egypt (43:8-10)

  10:20 My tent is plundered. Jeremiah, using a nomadic metaphor, shifted into words that Israelites will speak when the invaders attack. They will feel “woe” due to their “wound,” and cry out over their homes being plundered and their children being slain or scattered to exile.

  10:23 the way…is not in himself. Man is incapable of guiding his own life adequately. This prayer shifts to his need of God (Prov. 3:5, 6; 16:9), who had a plan for Jeremiah before he was even born (1:5).

  10:24, 25 Jeremiah saw himself (“correct me”) in solidarity with his people (cf. Dan. 9:1ff.) and understood the nation must be punished, but desired some mercy and moderation; he prayed that God’s full fury be poured on the nations that induced the Jews into idolatry.

  Jeremiah 11

  11:2 this covenant. The reference is to God’s covenant, summarized in vv. 3–5, which promised curses for disobeying and blessings for obeying (cf. Deut. 27:26—28:68).

  11:4 the iron furnace. A metaphor for the hardship of Egyptian bondage hundreds of years earlier (cf. Ex. 1:8–14).

  11:9 A conspiracy. This refers to a deliberate resisting of God’s appeals for repentance and an insistence upon trusting their own “peace” message and idols.

  11:13 Judah was so filled with idolatry that there were false deities for every city and a polluted altar on every street.

  11:14 do not pray. Cf. 7:16 and see note there. Their own prayers, as long as they rejected God, could not gain the answer they desired (v. 11; Ps. 66:18), and the same was true of another’s prayers for them.

  11:15 My beloved. A phrase showing God’s sensitive regard for His relationship to Israel as a nation (cf. 2:2; 12:7). It does not carry the assumption, however, that every individual is spiritually saved (cf. 5:10a). lewd deeds. Shameful idolatry that defiled all that befits true temple worship, such as the examples in Ezek. 8:6–13. These were gross violations of the first 3 commandments (cf. Ex. 20:2–7). holy flesh. In some way, they corrupted the animal sacrifices by committing sin which they enjoyed (cf. 7:10).

  11:16, 17 Green Olive Tree. Israel was pictured as a grapevine (2:21), then an olive tree meant to bear good fruit. However, they p
roduced fruit that calls only for the fire of judgment (as 5:10).

  11:18–23 You showed me. Jeremiah’s fellow townsmen from Anathoth, one of the 48 cities throughout the land dedicated to the Levites, plotted his death. Their words, “Let us destroy the tree…,” indicate their desire to silence Jeremiah by murder.

  11:20 Let me see Your vengeance. Jeremiah pleaded for God’s defense on his behalf, actually guaranteed in 1:8, 18, 19.

  Jeremiah 12

  12:1 Why. The issue of why the wicked escape for a time unscathed has often been raised by God’s people (cf. Ps. 73; Hab. 1:2–4).

  12:3 Pull them out…for the slaughter. The prophet here turned from the sadness of pleading for his people to calling on God to punish them. Such imprecatory prayers are similar to prayers throughout the Psalms.

  12:4 He will not see our final end. Here is the foolish idea that Jeremiah was wrong and didn’t know how things would happen.

  12:5 If you have run. The Lord replied to Jeremiah telling him that if he grew faint with lesser trials and felt like quitting, what would he do when the battle got even harder? floodplain of the Jordan. The river in flood stage overflowed its banks into a plain that grew up as a thicket. The point is that Jeremiah needed to be ready to deal with tougher testings, pictured by the invader’s overwhelming the land like a flood, or posing high danger as in the Jordan thicket where concealed wild animals could terrify a person.

  12:6 even your brothers. Jeremiah met antagonism not only from fellow townsmen (cf. 11:18–23 and see note there), but from his own family! He was separated from them (v. 7).

  12:8 like a lion. Jeremiah’s own people collectively are like a lion acting ferociously against him.

  12:9 a speckled vulture. God’s people, speckled with sin and compromise, are opposed by other vultures, i.e., enemy nations.