God's Covenant Is Ignored
Jeremiah 11, verse 1. The word came from the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, Jeremiah 11, verse 2. “Hear the words of this covenant, and you shall speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 11, verse 3. You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who will not hear the words of this covenant, Jeremiah 11, verse 4. which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Hear My voice, and do all I command you, so you shall be to Me as a people and I will be to you as God, Jeremiah 11, verse 5. that I may confirm the oath I swore to your fathers, to give to them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today.’”’” Then I answered and said, “O Lord, may it be so.” Jeremiah 11, verse 6. Then the Lord said to me, “Read aloud these words in the cities of Judah and outside Jerusalem, saying, ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them.’” Jeremiah 11, verse 7. But they did not. Jeremiah 11, verse 8. Again the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy was found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 11, verse 9. They turned back to the wrongdoings of their forefathers who were unwilling to hear My words. Behold, they go after foreign gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah rejected My covenant which I made with their fathers.” Jeremiah 11, verse 10. Therefore, thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will bring calamities on this people from which they cannot escape; and they shall cry out to Me, but I will not listen. Jeremiah 11, verse 11. Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense. But will they save them in the time of their calamities? Jeremiah 11, verse 12. O Judah, your gods were based on the number of your cities, and according to the number of streets in Jerusalem, you appointed altars to burn incense to Baal. Jeremiah 11, verse 13. “Do not pray for this people, and do not consider them worthy in petition; for I will not hear their prayer in the time they cry out to Me or in the time of their distress. Jeremiah 11, verse 14. Why has My beloved done a detestable thing in My house? Will prayers and holy offerings remove your vices from you? Will you escape by means of these? Jeremiah 11, verse 15. The Lord called your name a pleasant olive tree, a good shade tree in appearance. At the sound of its pruning, a fire was kindled against it. Great is the affliction coming upon you. Its branches have become worthless. Jeremiah 11, verse 16. For the Lord who planted you has proclaimed troubles against you in return for the evil the house of Israel and the house of Judah did against themselves when they offered incense to Baal and provoked My wrath.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
Jeremiah 11, verse 17. O Lord, teach me, and I will know. Then I saw their purpose. Jeremiah 11, verse 18. For I did not know I was like an innocent lamb led to be sacrificed. They plotted an evil device against me, saying, “Come, let us put wood in his bread, and destroy him root and branch from the land of the living, so his name might not be remembered any longer.” Jeremiah 11, verse 19. But, O Lord, You who judge righteously, who tests minds and hearts, let me see Your vengeance on them, for I have revealed my righteous plea to You. Jeremiah 11, verse 20. Therefore thus says the Lord against the men of Anathoth, against those who seek my life, and who say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, lest you die by our hands”— Jeremiah 11, verse 21. “Behold, I will visit them. The young men shall die by the sword, and their sons and daughters shall die by famine. Jeremiah 11, verse 22. There shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring calamities on the inhabitants of Anathoth in the year of their visitation.”