Jer 11 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Jer 11:1-17: 11:1-17 The Lord reminded Jeremiah of several messages (Exod 19:5 ) that had been the basis for the relationship between the Lord and Israel over many centuries. Because the kingdom of Judah was the only remaining portion of the nation of Israel, its people were the defendants in their upcoming trial before the Lord. This event probably occurred during the reign of Jehoiakim. Summary for Jer 11:1-3: 11:1-3 The Lord authorized Jeremiah to present the legal charges against the people of Judah and Jerusalem . With the power of the divine name behind the spoken words, the Lord brought forward the terms of the covenant pertaining to the curses that would come upon those who did not obey (see Deut 27:15-26 ; 28:15-68 ).

Summary for Jer 11:1-17: 11:1-17 ^a The Lord reminded Jeremiah of several messages (Exod 19:5 ^b) that had been the basis for the relationship between the Lord and Israel over many centuries. Because the kingdom of Judah was the only remaining portion of the nation of Israel, its people were the defendants in their upcoming trial before the Lord. This event probably occurred during the reign of Jehoiakim.
Summary for Jer 11:1-3: 11:1-3 ^c The Lord authorized Jeremiah to present the legal charges against the people of Judah and Jerusalem. With the power of the divine name behind the spoken words, the Lord brought forward the terms of the covenant pertaining to the curses that would come upon those who did not obey (see Deut 27:15-26 ^d; 28:15-68 ^e).
11:4 ^f The Egyptians knew how to smelt iron, but the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt was also a metaphor for the Israelites’ slavery in that land from which the Lord had rescued them. God had also promised to be uniquely theirs if they would be uniquely his (Exod 6:7 ^g).
11:5 ^h The Lord wanted to give Israel prosperity and blessing. Milk implies cattle, sheep, and goats. Honey, the product of bees, implies the presence of many different flowering and fruit-bearing plants.

• The word Amen is a Hebrew word that can be translated may it be so. The NLT includes both the Hebrew word and its translation.
Summary for Jer 11:6-7: 11:6-7 ⁱ Jeremiah was to use every available means to broadcast the Lord’s message to as many people as he could. As he visited every town and walked the streets of Jerusalem, he reminded the people to remember and obey the requirements of the ancient covenant.
11:8 ^j The Old Testament books of Numbers, Judges, Samuel, and Kings describe how the people of Israel repeatedly violated the covenant right up to Jeremiah’s time.
Summary for Jer 11:9-10: 11:9-10 ^k conspiracy: The word connotes “betrayal” or “treason” (cp. 2 Kgs 11:14 ^l).

• Judah and Jerusalem would no longer worship the Redeemer God, but would give themselves to worshiping other gods. Both Israel (probably referring here to the ten northern tribes) and Judah had broken the covenant.
11:11 ^m The Lord warned Jeremiah ahead of time about the decree that he would issue against the people. Calamity was approaching, and no prayers could prevent it. The time for God’s mercy had passed.
11:12 ⁿ The people of Judah and Jerusalem prayed and worshiped in their time of trouble, but not to the Lord; instead, they prayed to their idols. They were bonded to unreal and powerless images of wood and stone instead of to the one true God.
11:13 ^o Idolatry was so rampant in Judah that not a town or street could be found without an idol present.
11:14 ^p The Lord told Jeremiah not to weep or pray for the people of Jerusalem (see 7:16 ^q); the Lord had shut his ears to any prayers they might direct to him. Because the people were committed to worshiping Baal, any prayer they offered would be a charade.
11:15 ^r The people’s worship included the words and ceremonies the Lord required, but their worship was insincere; they did not love God or their neighbors.
Summary for Jer 11:16-17: 11:16-17 ^s At the time of the Exodus, the Lord regarded Israel as a thriving olive tree. King David likened himself to an olive tree (Ps 52:8 ^t), and the apostle Paul used this image when discussing how Gentiles could partake of the blessings of salvation (Rom 11:16-21 ^u).
Summary for Jer 11:18-23: 11:18-23 ^v The Lord warned Jeremiah of the plots against him. Jeremiah prayed, and the Lord promised to rescue him.
Summary for Jer 11:18-19: 11:18-19 ^w The Lord had warned Jeremiah at the time of his commissioning (1:19 ^x) that opposition would threaten his life. Jeremiah saw himself as a lamb being led to the slaughter, with no power to resist. This opposition occurred before Jeremiah’s trial in the Temple courtyard, early in the reign of Jehoiakim (between 608 and 605 BC; see ch 26 ^y). Some scholars believe that this verse prefigures the death of Christ, as does the suffering servant of Isa 53:7 ^z.
11:20 ^aa Jeremiah wanted the Lord to punish his enemies since the Lord knew their deepest thoughts and secrets. As events unfolded, Jeremiah discovered that the Lord had his own way of dealing with his foes.
Summary for Jer 11:21-23: 11:21-23 ^ab Jeremiah’s enemies even included family and relatives in his hometown of Anathoth, over whose fate he grieved (10:20 ^ac). They demanded that he should stop prophesying in the Lord’s name. In line with the Lord’s promise to take care of him (1:19 ^ad), the Lord told Jeremiah that even the families of his foes, including their boys and girls, would lose their lives when their time of punishment came.