Jer 9 | TNotes

9:2 ^a Jeremiah wanted to run away and build a shack in the desert to blot the reality of war from his memory (Ps 55:6-8 ^b). He understood that his people were adulterers and liars who deserved their punishment, but he did not want to be in Jerusalem to watch it happen.
Summary for Jer 9:3-16: 9:3-16 ^c The heavenly court was still in session (see study note on 2:9); the divine Judge lectured the people about the charges facing them and justified the severity of the verdict. Jeremiah interrupted the Lord’s speech twice to respond to the Lord’s messages (9:10 ^d, 12 ^e). 9:3 ^f The Lord did not scold Jeremiah for his outburst. Instead, the Lord recited the guilty charges against his people.

• The comparison with bows indicates that the people’s lies were deliberately aimed to harm their targets.
Summary for Jer 9:4-6: 9:4-6 ^g The lie of idolatry was at the root of an entire culture of deceit.

• The word brother, as a synonym for neighbor, indicates that even the closest relationships were polluted with fraud.
Summary for Jer 9:7-9: 9:7-9 ^h The Lord announced that he would place the people in the crucible of affliction (6:27-30 ⁱ; Isa 1:25 ^j). The three rhetorical questions challenged Jeremiah or anyone else to suggest a possible alternative to the Lord’s actions or to explain why they were not justified.
9:10 ^k It is unclear whether these words were uttered by the Lord or by Jeremiah. If the words belong to the Lord, they indicate that he pronounced judgment from a broken heart. If they come from Jeremiah, they show the depths of pain in his heart as he delivered the Lord’s decree. The prophet faced the difficult task of separating his patriotism and empathy for the people from his identity as the Lord’s messenger.
9:11 ^l The Lord clearly spoke these words, counterbalancing the deep emotion of 9:10 ^m with a further declaration of judgment.
9:12 ⁿ It is unclear who asks these three questions. It might be the people or Jeremiah. The first two questions express frustration that the Lord’s message about the religious and political situation made no sense—the Lord’s words seemed too harsh and too extreme. The third question reveals anger that the land had been desolated. The questioner seems to ask where to find the wisdom and goodness of the Lord in what was happening.
Summary for Jer 9:13-14: 9:13-14 ^o The Lord answered the questions (9:12 ^p) by repeating what he had said before. The people caused the destruction of city, towns, and land. They rejected the Lord’s covenant instructions and deliberately disobeyed his commands. They became dedicated idol worshipers because their ancestors taught them to worship images of Baal, the Canaanite god of storm and fertility.
Summary for Jer 9:15-16: 9:15-16 ^q The Lord ... the God of Israel then issued another decree. The Lord would provide bitterness and poison in the form of exile and widespread death in unknown countries.
Summary for Jer 9:17-26: 9:17-26 ^r This series of four short poems and a brief prose passage are messages from the Lord, presumably delivered to the people of Judah by Jeremiah. Three of the poems describe the effects of the Lord’s judgment on the people; the fourth poem is an exhortation. The prose section predicts doom on Judah and her neighboring nations. 9:17 ^s The Lord commanded the people to organize the professional mourners; these individuals commonly performed at ancient Near Eastern funerals (see Amos 5:16 ^t; Mark 5:38 ^u).
Summary for Jer 9:18-19: 9:18-19 ^v The mourners had to start their work immediately, mourning those who had already died and grieving for doomed Jerusalem. The mourners were to join the people of Jerusalem who had no homes and were forced to flee as refugees.
Summary for Jer 9:20-21: 9:20-21 ^w Because of the many deaths in the city, not enough professional mourners were available. The women were urged to quickly teach their daughters to be skilled mourners.
Summary for Jer 9:23-24: 9:23-24 ^x This short poem discusses the nature of true wisdom. 9:23 ^y Intellectuals might boast about the knowledge they have accumulated. The king and his royal court might flaunt their power with pomp and ceremony. Wealthy merchants might display their riches by wearing splendid clothes and constructing majestic buildings. All of these would be destroyed at the time of God’s judgment.
9:24 ^z The Lord would recognize just one kind of boast—the testimony of persons who truly know and understand that the Lord is the one true God (1 Cor 1:31 ^aa; 2 Cor 10:17 ^ab).

• unfailing love: This key covenant term (Hebrew khesed) carries the basic meaning of passionate loyalty. It is often undeserved, and the word may be translated as “mercy,” “grace,” “kindness,” or love. It is the Old Testament equivalent of the New Testament affirmation that “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8 ^ac).

• righteousness: God deals with his people on an ethical, moral level. He does what is right in every situation.

• I delight in these things: God does not find joy in bringing vicious sinners to judgment and then punishing them. Rather, he actively seeks to redeem sinners.
9:25 ^ad Because arrogant sin ruled the nation, there would soon come a time when the Lord would decree a sentence of doom.

• The rite of circumcision among the Hebrew people went back to Abraham (Gen 17:10-14 ^ae). Through the centuries, this rite became so closely associated with being God’s covenant people that the Israelites assumed that it guaranteed their nation a lasting relationship with the Lord. Being circumcised in body is not enough, however; a person must also be circumcised ... in spirit—radically separated from idol worship and completely committed to placing the Lord at the center of life and practice (Rom 2:25-29 ^af).
9:26 ^ag The Egyptians lived to the southwest on both sides of the Nile River. The Edomites lived to the south and southeast of Judah. The Ammonites lived east of the Jordan River. The Moabites lived east of the Dead Sea. These nations practiced circumcision but had uncircumcised hearts because all of them worshiped many false deities.