Jeremiah 11:9

The Bible says in Jeremiah 11:9-10, “And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 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.” We are told that three things happened to the children of Israel that resulted in them being so far away from God. The first problem was that they “turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers.” It seems as though the children of Israel knew about the sins of their fathers, and that knowledge was a temptation to them to do the same thing. It is a terrible truth that many people learn sin from other people. They see the sinful things that other people do and they decide to try it themselves. That especially happens with children. But it can happen with anyone. “Everyone else is doing it, so I am going to do it too.” That is what an unwise person says. But a wise person realizes that they must always be ready to do things differently from what they see others doing. To serve Jesus means to be a leader, not a follower. A servant of the Lord must be strong and resolute, and always willing to say. “Either others will follow me, or I will go it alone.”

The second error of the Israelites was that God said they “refused to hear my words.” To hear God’s Word means to listen with a desire to obey. The most important book in the world is the Bible. No one can survive spiritually without the teachings of God’s Word as a daily part of their thought process. Whoever puts down, discredits, goes away from, or ignores God’s Word will be going away from God. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

The third problem of the Israelites was definitely a result of neglecting God’s Word and refusing to hear God’s Word. “they went after other gods to serve them.” False religion comes from false teaching. True teachings come from God’s Word, and come from the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me.”

The problem with the Old Testament law is stated clearly in Jeremiah 11:10, “the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.” Remember that the Old Testament law was a typical contract in which both parties had to keep their side of the agreement or else the contract was null and void. God kept His side, but the human beings did not. That always happens with law. In the age of grace in which we live, a new covenant has been established that is different from a typical contract: there is only one side to this contract, and that is God’s side. God will keep His side of the contract because of Christ, and therefore the contract will not be broken. Do not allow your mind to put yourself back under the old contract. That is exactly what is being said in Galatians 4:9, “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 11:11-17, “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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.” One of the truths that these verses remind us of is God’s great jealousy. It seems that one of the primary reasons that Jesus created human beings was so that we would love Him and live in fellowship with Him. No wonder that He is moved to anger when humans turn away from Him and turn to other gods. The first of the Ten Commandments says in Exodus 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The second of the Ten Commandments is closely related to the first, and it says in Exodus 20:4-5, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” Notice that God calls Himself “a jealous God.” In Exodus 34:14 God says that one of His names is “Jealous.” It says, “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” What God do you serve? I serve the God whose name is Jesus. Another way of saying the same thing is to say, “I serve the God whose name is Jealous.” No wonder He allows no other way to heaven than through Jesus. No wonder that Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”

Notice that in Jeremiah 11:15 God called the children of Israel, “my beloved.” How much God loved them, and how much He did for them. The same can be said of each of us: how much God loves us. It says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” It says in First John 3:1, “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…” And it says in First John 4:2, “God is love.” With all of this love constantly showered on us from God and from Christ, one would think that we would return this love to Jesus. As it says in First John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us.” But sadly and perhaps unbelievably many do not return the love of God to Him. Instead of faithfully loving God, many have done what Israel did, and it says about that nation: “she hath wrought lewdness with many.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 11:18, “And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.” The Lord is the source of true knowledge and wisdom. One of the greatest problems in the world today whether we are talking about politicians, religions, schools, families, or personal relationships, or anything else where people are involved, is the need for wisdom and knowledge. Many of the things that people are so proud of thinking they know what they need to know, in reality are things where people are wrong and have a great lack of knowledge. Why do we so often have a lack of knowledge and wisdom? Evidently, we are not going to the source of wisdom like we should be. It says in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 11:19-23, “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. 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. 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: 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: And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.” In these verses we see some of the sufferings revealed very clearly that Jeremiah had to suffer. Jeremiah said, “I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter.” Every Christian will suffer some kind of persecution. It says in Second Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” The persecutions can take many forms: being hated, lied about, shunned, opposed, gossiped about, and being the object of physical violence. We are commanded to respond with love to any and all of these persecutions. Jesus said in John 15:18-19, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” It says in Matthew 5:43-44, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Some Christians in every generation will be called to pay for their lives for their faith in Jesus. Of course, it still happens today. In our generation Communists and radical Moslems are the main ones who will murder people just for naming the name of Jesus Christ.

But the second part of these verses in Jeremiah chapter 11 reminds us of why we should pray even for those who kill innocent Christians: the judgment is coming. No one escapes the eyes of the Judge of the whole earth. Everyone will give an account. God is Judge, and that is one reason that we do not take vengeance on others. We live by faith in the Lord, and that includes having faith in His determination as to when any judgment should befall these poor unbelievers who are on their way to an eternity without God unless they repent. What the Lord said about those who persecuted Jeremiah will eventually be said about everyone who opposes Jesus: “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: And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.”

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