Jer 26 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Jer 26:1-24: 26:1-24 Jeremiah was put on trial in the presence of the priests and prophets. The sanctity of the Temple was at issue, for Jeremiah declared that the Lord would destroy the Temple as well as Jerusalem.

Summary for Jer 26:1-24: 26:1-24 ^a Jeremiah was put on trial in the presence of the priests and prophets. The sanctity of the Temple was at issue, for Jeremiah declared that the Lord would destroy the Temple as well as Jerusalem.
26:2 ^b Jeremiah stood in the courtyard of the Temple because the people of Judah gathered there during the scheduled annual festivals.
26:3 ^c The Lord gave the people a choice about what would happen to them in the future. If they would turn from their evil ways, the Lord would change his mind. The standard of judgment was his covenant with Israel (see Deut 5:1-21 ^d; 27:1–28:68 ^e). When Israel obeyed the terms of the covenant, the Lord blessed the people. When Israel persistently and stubbornly disobeyed, the Lord eventually punished them.
Summary for Jer 26:4-6: 26:4-6 ^f The people’s ancestors had chosen the way of disobedience; as a result, their sanctuary at Shiloh, north of Jerusalem, had been destroyed (7:12-15 ^g; 1 Sam 1–4 ^h). Similarly, continued disobedience of the covenant commands by the people in Jeremiah’s day would result in the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem.
Summary for Jer 26:7-9: 26:7-9 ⁱ The crowd at the Temple wanted to kill Jeremiah for blasphemy because he had spoken against the Temple. This charge carried the death penalty (Lev 24:16 ^j). The prophet’s opponents argued that the Lord’s holy Temple could not possibly be destroyed. The priests and prophets had accepted the pagan idea that temples were indestructible because deities dwelt within them.
Summary for Jer 26:10-15: 26:10-15 ^k Court trials were customarily held at a gateway to the city. City gateways at this time were covered and multi-chambered. In this location, where the commerce of the city went in and out, the elders of the city would congregate where they could be called upon to apply their wisdom to legal conflicts. In this case, the officials were fair; they gave each party an opportunity to present its side of the quarrel.
Summary for Jer 26:12-13: 26:12-13 ^l Jeremiah argued that the Lord had sent him to speak against the city and the Temple; he added that the impending disaster would not occur if the people of Jerusalem chose to obey the Lord.
Summary for Jer 26:14-15: 26:14-15 ^m Jeremiah submitted calmly to authority and placed his life in the officials’ hands; however, he warned them that they would bear the responsibility for their decision if they killed an innocent man.
26:16 ⁿ Jeremiah was successful in his defense; he convinced the officials and the people that he was innocent because he spoke for the Lord.
Summary for Jer 26:17-19: 26:17-19 ^o Societies in the ancient Near East greatly revered wise old men. Few people survived to old age, and those who did had a valuable store of memory.

• Micah of Moresheth had lived during the reign of King Hezekiah (728–686 BC), more than 100 years earlier. Micah had written a small collection of his prophecies, from which the elders quoted a verse (Mic 3:12 ^p) that predicted the destruction of Mount Zion and Jerusalem. These elders counseled the people to do as Hezekiah had done when he turned from his sins and worshiped the Lord. Although the people of Judah relinquished their plan to harm Jeremiah, they did not heed the second part of the old men’s counsel.
26:24 ^q Ahikam had served under King Josiah (2 Kgs 22:12-14 ^r).