The Book of Jeremiah

Hebrew Study

Explanation

Jeremiah writes an actual letter to those already in Babylon, carried off with King Jeconiah. Against the false prophets promising a quick return, God's counsel is startling: settle in. "Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens... Take ye wives... that ye may be increased there, and not diminished." The exile would be long, so they were to live full, fruitful lives right where God had placed them. More startling still: "seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away... and pray unto the LORD for it." They were to bless Babylon, the empire that had ruined them, "for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace." Then God warns again against the prophets and diviners who "prophesy falsely... in my name." The truth is that "after seventy years... I will visit you, and perform my good word... in causing you to return." And here comes the treasured promise: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Even in discipline, God's heart toward His people was good and His plan hopeful. Restoration would come as they turned back: "Then shall ye call upon me... And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you."

Gospel Focus

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." This beloved promise was first spoken to exiles facing seventy years in Babylon, not a blanket guarantee of comfort or success on demand. Yet rightly understood it is deeply for us, because it reveals the unchanging heart of God toward His people: even when He disciplines, His thoughts are "of peace, and not of evil," and He always has "a future and a hope" in view. "All things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28) is the same truth. And notice how restoration comes, "ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you." This is the great gospel invitation: God is a God who can be found, and who promises to be found by those who seek Him wholeheartedly. Jesus said, "Seek, and ye shall find" (Matthew 7:7); "ye shall seek me, and find me" is fulfilled in Him. There is also a pattern for how we live now. Like the exiles, believers are "strangers and pilgrims" (1 Peter 2:11) in a world not our home, called not to withdraw in bitterness but to "seek the peace of the city," to do good, pray for, and bless the places God sets us, knowing our own peace is tied to theirs. Settle in, seek the Lord with all your heart, and rest in His good thoughts toward you.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

The exiles were comforting themselves, "The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon", encouraged by voices promising a swift end to captivity. God corrects them on two fronts. First, concerning those still in Jerusalem, who felt secure because they had not been deported: far from being spared, "the king that sitteth upon the throne of David" and "all the people that dwelleth in this city" would face "the sword, the famine, and the pestilence" and be made "like vile figs, that cannot be eaten." This echoes the two baskets of chapter 24, the ones who looked safe were under judgment, because "they have not hearkened to my words." Second, God names two of the lying prophets in Babylon, "Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and... Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name." Their end would be so infamous that their names would become a proverb of cursing: "The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire." Their sins were not only false prophecy but "villany" and adultery, all done while claiming to speak for God. And God declares He sees it all: "even I know, and am a witness."

Gospel Focus

"They have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD." The false prophets sinned in secret, immorality dressed up in the language of revelation, but nothing was hidden from God. This is a solemn comfort and warning: "all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13). No one who claims to speak for God, or who wraps sin in religious words, escapes His sight. Those who use the Lord's name to advance a lie or cover immorality face His personal testimony against them. Yet for the humble there is comfort in the same truth: the God who sees the false prophet's secret sin also sees the exile's secret tears and the believer's hidden faithfulness. And note again the reversal of the vile figs: those who felt secure apart from obedience were not safe at all. It is dangerous to measure God's favour by outward comfort or by escaping hardship. Real security is found only in hearing and obeying His word, and in resting in the One who is both our all-knowing Judge and our merciful Saviour. Live openly before the God who knows and witnesses everything, and let His all-seeing eye drive you to honesty and to Christ.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

The letter provoked a reaction. Shemaiah, an exile in Babylon, "sent letters in thy name" back to Jerusalem, writing to the priest Zephaniah to complain that Jeremiah had not been silenced. He treats Jeremiah as "every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet," one who ought to be put "in prison, and in the stocks," and rebukes Zephaniah: "why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth?" Shemaiah's offense was Jeremiah's honest message that "this captivity is long", the very counsel to build houses and settle in. When Zephaniah read the letter aloud to Jeremiah, God answered. Shemaiah "prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie." Therefore his judgment: "I will punish Shemaiah... and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people." He would be cut off, and, poignantly, would not live to see the very restoration he had falsely promised on his own terms. The reason is stated plainly, the same as Hananiah's: "because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD."

Gospel Focus

Shemaiah dismissed the true prophet as a madman who ought to be locked up, a reminder that faithful servants of God are often ridiculed and opposed by the religious establishment. The world called Jesus "beside himself" and Paul mad; if we speak God's truth plainly, we should not be surprised to be thought fools. "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18). Yet God defended His servant and His word, and the mocker who "caused you to trust in a lie" was cut off. The most sobering line is that Shemaiah would not "behold the good that I will do for my people." By fighting God's word, he forfeited a share in God's blessing; he talked of restoration but would never see it. There is a warning here for anyone who opposes or waters down God's truth: you may argue yourself right out of the very good God is preparing for those who trust and obey Him. But the flip side is a promise, God will do good for His people, and those who humble themselves under His word, however hard, will "behold the good." Do not stand with the mockers against God's word; stand with the humble exiles who believed it, sought the Lord with all their heart, and lived to see His salvation.