Jeremiah 6

CHAPTER 6

Jerusalem Under Siege (6:1–30)

1–3 In this chapter the Lord continues to warn the people of the impending Babylonian attack on Jerusalem. In these first three verses, the Lord tells the people of Benjamin³⁶ (the tribe located just north of Judah) to flee from Jerusalem, because it is about to fall. The people must be alerted by trumpet and by fire signal (verse 1). Shepherds and their flocks—that is, enemy commanders with their troops—are about to surround Jerusalem, and each commander will “tend” (destroy) his own portion (verse 3).

4–5 Here the attacking commanders rally their troops. So eager are they to destroy Jerusalem that when they find the daylight fading they decide to attack at night.

6–8 In verses 6–7, the Lord speaks to the Babylonian attackers: it’s as if He Himself were leading the assault on Jerusalem. And indeed, in one sense, He was; the Babylonians ( just like the Assyrians before them) were the instruments God used to punish His faithless people.

God gives the reason why Jerusalem must be punished: the city is filled with oppression and wickedness; its moral and spiritual sickness is an offense to God (verses 6–7). But, in verse 8, God still seeks to warn His people; His longing for them continues to the last moment.

9 God had already promised to spare a remnant of Israel, a remnant of people from both northern and southern kingdoms (Isaiah 10:20–23). Here He tells the attackers to glean³⁷ this “remnant” and take it into exile.

10–11 No one in Jerusalem was listening to Jeremiah. The ears of the people were closed (see Isaiah 6:9–10 and comment). In one sense, Jeremiah was “failing” in his mission to warn the people. But God had not called Jeremiah to be successful, only to be faithful. The “success” or “failure” of our work for the Lord is in His hands; faithfulness, however, is up to us.

In the first part of verse 11, Jeremiah is still speaking; here, in a personal way, he takes the Lord’s side against the people: I am full of the wrath of the LORD. Jeremiah is learning what it’s like to deal with a hardened and rebellious people.

Then in the second part of verse 11 (and through verse 23), the Lord resumes His speech. Jeremiah, full of divine wrath, is told: “Pour it out.”

12–15 The Lord’s wrath is to be poured out on everyone in Jerusalem and Judah (verses 11–12)—even on the remnant of people who will be taken captive. The Lord especially condemns the false prophets and the priests; these leaders have told the people not to worry about their sins, that God will overlook them and grant peace to the nation (verse 14). False spiritual leaders often “sugarcoat” their messages in order to gain a wider following—and a larger income! The job of a true spiritual leader is to speak God’s word, God’s truth, no matter how unpopular it is.

16 Once again the Lord shows the people how to avert disaster: “. . . ask where the good way is, and walk in it” (verse 16). The “good way”—the ancient paths—is the way of Moses, the way of God’s law. Even now the people are standing at the crossroads: if they take one way they will find death; if they take the other way, they will find life (see Deuteronomy 30:15–20; Matthew 7:13–14). If they make the right choice, they will find eternal rest for [their] souls (see Matthew 11:28–29). Sadly, the people refused to make the right choice.

17–19 The Lord even set watchmen (true prophets) over the people to warn them³⁸ (verse 17), but they would not listen. Therefore, God now calls on the nations of the earth to act as witnesses, to testify that God’s judgment against His people is just.

20 Here God rejects the incense and the offerings of the people because they have offered them with insincere and disobedient hearts (see 1 Samuel 15:20–23; Isaiah 1:10–17 and comments). The people have merely been trying to appease God so that they could keep on sinning. The attitude of the heart and obedience to God’s word are far more important than any outward religious ritual.

21–23 In order to arouse the people to repent, the Lord pictures the terror of the coming army. The obstacles the Lord will put in His people’s way are the Babylonians themselves (verse 21).

24–26 Here Jeremiah speaks: earlier he felt the wrath of the Lord (verse 11); now he feels the pain of the people (verse 24). In verse 26, he again urges the people to repent and to mourn for their sins (Matthew 5:4).

27–30 Finally the Lord speaks and tells Jeremiah that he is to be a tester of metals, a “tester” of the people’s true worth. The people are hardened like bronze and iron, which are inferior metals when compared with gold and silver (verse 28). Alas, the refining process will be in vain; the people are so corrupt that their impurities—the wicked among them—will be impossible to purge out (verse 29). Why? Because they all are wicked; the entire nation of Judah must be rejected.³⁹