Jeremiah 6
Summary for Jer 6:1-9: 6:1-9 a The invasion from the north, probably by the Babylonians in 605 BC, was moving toward the kingdom of Judah. As the Lord’s messenger, Jeremiah had the duty of arousing the people so that they could find shelter. 6:1 b Jeremiah’s parents lived in the tribal area of Benjamin, a narrow strip of land oriented east to west a few miles north of Jerusalem. Amos had lived in Tekoa, about twelve miles south of Jerusalem (Amos 1:1 c).• Beth-hakkerem was about three miles south of Jerusalem, overlooking Bethlehem.
Summary for Jer 6:2-5: 6:2-5 d Jeremiah portrayed the commanding officers of the invading army as shepherds who led their flocks of soldiers to camp around the city. The initial plan was to strike the city walls at noon, when the attackers could see their work. But the people in the city were so weakened that the attack at night was just as effective (see 2 Kgs 25:1-4 e).
Summary for Jer 6:6-7: 6:6-7 f The Lord was orchestrating the attack by the Babylonians. He instructed the invading enemy to construct battering rams for breaking through the walls, and to build dirt ramps against the walls for easy access (32:24 g).
6:8 h Even at this late hour, the purpose of the Lord’s accusations was to make the people listen and turn back to him.
6:9 i Little time remained for the people to turn back to the one true God. The survivors of the invasion would be like leftover grapes on vines; God, the harvester, would track down the survivors to ensure that everyone in Israel experienced this punishment.
Summary for Jer 6:10-15: 6:10-15 j In a series of rhetorical questions, Jeremiah, the messenger-prosecutor, revealed his love for the people; he then expressed his disbelief when the people responded with scorn. After presenting evidence of sins committed by the people from the lowest level of society to the highest, the prophet transmitted a divine decree. The future tense of his indictment suggests that the message was given before the invasion. 6:10 k The people could literally hear, because their retorts were filled with scorn, but they did not take the Lord’s message seriously (cp. Acts 7:51 l).
Summary for Jer 6:11-12: 6:11-12 m Jeremiah shared the Lord’s fury toward the people; he could not contain his feelings.
6:13 n The people were so ruled by greed that they sought gain even by violent methods (cp. Prov 1:11-19 o; see also Isa 56:11 p; Mic 3:5 q, 11 r). The religious leaders were frauds; they did not function as their titles indicated they should.
6:14 s The sinful condition of God’s people was the mortal wound that warranted God’s judgment. Instead of calling for repentance, the religious leaders gave the people unfounded assurances of peace (23:17 t; Ezek 13:10 u).
Summary for Jer 6:16-21: 6:16-21 v The Lord again appealed to the people to repent and warned them of the terrible consequences that awaited them if they refused. 6:16 w Following the old, godly way of God’s laws (Mal 4:4 x) would lead to rest for the people’s souls (cp. Matt 11:29 y).
6:17 z Prophets were the Lord’s watchmen (25:4 aa; Isa 58:1 ab; Ezek 3:17 ac).
Summary for Jer 6:18-19: 6:18-19 ad All the nations would know that disaster had come upon the Lord’s people because they had rejected his word (19:3 ae; Prov 1:31 af; Isa 1:2 ag).
6:20 ah The offerings of expensive frankincense and fragrant perfumes were repulsive to the Lord because of his people’s rebellion (7:21-23 ai; Exod 30:23 aj; Pss 40:6 ak; 50:7-9 al; Isa 1:11 am; 43:24 an; 66:3 ao; Amos 5:21 ap; Mic 6:6-7 aq).
Summary for Jer 6:22-30: 6:22-30 ar This dialogue between Jeremiah and the Lord probably took place at the beginning of the Babylonian invasion in 605 BC. In these three poems, Jeremiah declares the Lord’s message (6:22-23 as), identifies with his people’s fear, and urges them to repent quickly (6:24-26 at). He then receives a heart-to-heart message from the Lord (6:27-30 au).
Summary for Jer 6:22-23: 6:22-23 av The Lord reminded the people that the impending invasion was not fictitious; the soldiers had real bows and spears (Isa 13:18 aw).
• sound like a roaring sea: The sound of tens of thousands of soldiers with cavalry and chariots must have been terrifying (Isa 5:27-30 ax).
6:26 ay Jeremiah advised the people to put on burlap and sit among the ashes to show remorse for their sin and to beg for God’s mercy (Isa 58:5 az; Amos 8:10 ba; Jon 3:6 bb; Mic 1:10 bc).
Summary for Jer 6:27-30: 6:27-30 bd The Lord interrupted Jeremiah’s lamentation and brought him back to his commissioned task. God depicted the prophet as a silversmith working with raw ore. The refining process was going to reveal that the silver content of the ore was so small as to be worthless. 6:27 be Jeremiah’s prophetic task was at odds with the empathy that he felt for his people. Like a metalworker, he was to direct the fire of criticism on the people to determine their quality in the light of God’s standards.
6:28 bf The people’s dross was spiritual; it included rebellion against God, slander of other people, a hard and stubborn attitude, and a disposition to lead others into corruption (Ezek 22:18 bg).
6:29 bh To expose their wickedness, God was fanning the flames with the bellows of his judgment. But no valuable silver appeared; only the dross of wickedness remained (Zech 13:9 bi; Mal 3:3 bj).
6:30 bk The people, the Rejected Silver, must be thrown away (Isa 1:22 bl).
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