The Book of Jeremiah
Lesson 9
Jeremiah 17 – 19
Introduction
Last time we examined a map of Babylon and Assyria, the nations of the north which would come to destroy Israel and Judah. Jeremiah was called to be celibate; not to take a wife or to have children. Marriage and children represent joy and happiness (Mirth). Jeremiah was the symbol that God would remove from the land all joy and Mirth. When the land was the destroyed and the people were carried off into exile, God would sent fishermen and hunters to see the people and to return them to their lands.
I. What does it mean to “carry a burden?”
a) Thus far the people have broken the 1st commandment (Ex. 20:3) not to have or worship other gods than the LORD; they have broken the 2nd commandment (Ex. 20:4) not to make images or idols; they have broken the 6th commandment (Ex. 20:13) not to murder by shedding innocent blood; and they have broken the 9th commandment (Ex. 20:16) not to lie (bear false witness). Now, the people are breaking the 4th commandment (Ex. 20: 8) to observe the sabbath. “Thus says the LORD: For the sake of your lives, take care that you do not bear a burden on the sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem (Jer. 17:21).”
b) A burden is a commercial load; the goods necessary to sell in the marketplace. The commandment is a prohibition against engaging in commerce or economic activity on the sabbath, but instead to rest. Resting or not engaging in commerce teaches us that our dependence is not on our own labor but upon the Lord. Resting on the sabbath teaches us that labor is not an end; it is not the purpose of our lives. Our purpose is to worship and to enjoy God, so we are called to rest; and by resting, we acknowledge and learn to depend on God to provide the fruits of our labor.
c) Jer. 17: 22 says, “And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the sabbath or do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.” V. 23 says that they did not listen but instead stiffened their necks and would not receive instruction. “But if you do not listen to me, to keep the sabbath day holy, and to carry in no burden through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates; it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched (v. 27).”
II. Are God’s judgements definitive?
a) We have heard people (and may have said it ourselves), “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” This saying suggests that what God says is definitive (unchanging); but this is not true, and we should not use this saying. God does indeed change from decrees and judgments that God has made. The first time that God changed a decree is in Gen. 18 where God intended to destroy the whole city of Sodom, but after a conversation with Abraham, God allowed Lot and his family to escape. The second time that God changed a decree is in Ex. 32 where God vowed to destroy the people because of the golden calf, but after a conversation with Moses, v. 14 says that God changed God’s mind. Then in Ex. 33, God said that an angel would lead the people into the promised land, but that God’s presence would not go with them, but again God changed God’s mind. Here in Jer. 18, God again changes God’s mind.
b) Jeremiah is told to go to the potter’s house and Jeremiah observes the potter, working with clay, destroying it, and then remaking it (vs. 3-4). God asked Jeremiah, “Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done (v. 6)?” God may declare either destruction or prosperity for a nation or a person, but depending on their actions, God may change God’s mind concerning the decree (vs. 8 & 10).
c) Our actions – good or bad – are a determining factor in what God decrees. When destruction is decreed, our repentance can cause God to change God’s mind; the same when prosperity is promised but we instead turn away from God. In 7:16 and 14:11 where God tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people, this comes after the opportunity for repentance has been offered and rejected. Our actions – good or bad – are a factor in God’s decrees.
III. Why did Jeremiah buy a jug?
a) After going to the potter’s house, Jeremiah is told to buy a potter’s jug, then to take some of the elders and some of the priests and go to the Hinnom valley (a small ridge south of the temple) at the entrance of the Potsherd Gate, and there proclaim the word of the Lord: “I am going to bring such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle (vs. 1-3).” God recounts all of the sins of the people in vs. 4-5, then describes the disaster that will come upon them in vs. 6-9.
b) Jeremiah is told to break the jug in the sight of those who traveled with him and said to them, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, so that it can never be mended. In Topheth they shall bury until there is no more room to bury (v. 11).”
c) After having gone to the potter’s house and seen what the potter can do to/with a vessel/jug, God then tells Jeremiah to go to the gate where kings and priests pass through and to break a jug, just as the potter broke a vessel in his hands. Again, Jeremiah is a symbol of what God intends to do to the people.
Next Week: Jeremiah 20
Questions for the week:
1. How was Jeremiah violated?
2. Why does Jeremiah seek vindication?
3. Why does Jeremiah curse the day he was born?
WARNING: strong sexual content in this lesson.