Jeremiah Chapter 11
Jeremiah 11
A Broken Covenant and a Conspiracy
Jeremiah 11:1-5, The Covenant and the Curse
Jeremiah 11:1-5, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Hear ye the words this covenant, and speak unto the men Judah, and to the inhabitants Jerusalem, And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God Israel, Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words this covenant, Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out the land Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you, so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God, That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.”
Jeremiah 11 begins with the LORD bringing Judah back to the covenant. The command is, “Hear ye the words this covenant.” The crisis in Judah was not merely political, economic, or military. It was covenantal. Judah had broken the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai, and Jeremiah was sent to confront them with the consequences.
The Mosaic covenant was not vague. God had delivered Israel from Egypt, brought them out of bondage, and bound them to Himself as His covenant nation. The LORD says He brought them out of “the iron furnace,” a vivid description of Israel’s affliction in Egypt. Egypt was a place of bondage, oppression, and refining heat. God rescued them from slavery and gave them His law, not to burden them, but to establish them as His people.
Deuteronomy 4:20, “But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out the iron furnace, even out Egypt, to be unto him a people inheritance, as ye are this day.”
1 Kings 8:51, “For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out Egypt, from the midst the furnace iron.”
The covenant command was simple in its essence, “Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you.” Israel’s relationship with God was not meant to be empty ritual. It was to be covenant obedience flowing from their redemption. God’s promise was, “so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God.” This language lies at the heart of the Old Testament covenant relationship and later becomes central to the New Covenant promise.
Jeremiah 31:33, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house Israel, After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
God also reminds them that the covenant was connected to the land promise. He had sworn to their fathers to give them “a land flowing with milk and honey.” The land was a gift rooted in God’s oath, but enjoyment of blessing in the land under the Mosaic covenant required obedience. Judah’s coming judgment would not mean God had failed His oath. It would mean Judah had violated the covenant terms and would experience discipline.
The curse is stated plainly, “Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words this covenant.” This reflects the covenant curses of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 27:26, “Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.”
Jeremiah’s response is, “So be it, O LORD.” This is the language of agreement. Jeremiah says amen to God’s covenant justice. That does not mean Jeremiah was cold or happy about judgment. He was a weeping prophet. But he agreed that God was right, that the covenant was just, and that rebellion deserved the curse.
Jeremiah 11:6-8, The Command to Preach the Message of the Broken Covenant
Jeremiah 11:6-8, “Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities Judah, and in the streets Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words this covenant, and do them. For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out the land Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination their evil heart, therefore I will bring upon them all the words this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did them not.”
Jeremiah is commanded to proclaim this message in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. The broken covenant was not to be discussed privately among religious scholars only. It had to be preached publicly. The people needed to hear the words of the covenant and do them.
The phrase, “Hear ye the words this covenant, and do them,” shows that biblical hearing is more than listening to sound. To hear God rightly is to receive His word with obedient faith. Judah heard sermons, warnings, and covenant instruction, but they did not obey. They were hearers in outward exposure, but not hearers in inward submission.
God says He “earnestly protested” to their fathers from the day He brought them out of Egypt until Jeremiah’s day. He had been patient for generations. The phrase “rising early and protesting” is a picture of God’s persistent diligence. The LORD did not send one warning and then judge hastily. He repeatedly called, warned, instructed, corrected, and exhorted.
The command had remained the same, “Obey my voice.” Yet Judah refused. They did not obey. They did not incline their ear. Instead, every one walked in “the imagination their evil heart.” This has been one of Jeremiah’s repeated indictments. The people followed the inward imagination of a corrupt heart rather than the revealed word of God.
This is the natural course of man apart from God. If a man will not be governed by Scripture, he will be governed by his own imagination, desires, and cultural idols. Judah did not become free by rejecting God’s voice. They became slaves to the evil heart.
The consequence is direct, “therefore I will bring upon them all the words this covenant.” The curses written in the covenant would come upon them because they refused the obedience commanded by the covenant. God’s judgment was not arbitrary. It was covenant enforcement.
Jeremiah 11:9-10, The Conspiracy of Disobedience
Jeremiah 11:9-10, “And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men Judah, and among the inhabitants Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities their forefathers, which refused to hear my words, and they went after other gods to serve them, the house Israel and the house Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.”
God describes Judah’s rebellion as a conspiracy. This does not necessarily mean every person knowingly attended secret meetings to plan apostasy. It means their disobedience was so widespread and unified that it functioned like an organized plot against God. The men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were united in covenant rebellion.
They had turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers. This is tragic because God had repeatedly warned them through the history of Israel. They had examples of judgment behind them. They had the fall of the northern kingdom as a warning. Yet they returned to the same sins, refusing to hear God’s words and going after other gods to serve them.
This included both the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The northern kingdom had already been judged and scattered, but Judah had followed the same path. Both houses had broken the covenant made with their fathers. This was covenant treachery across the whole nation.
The phrase “refused to hear my words” is central. The covenant was broken not because God was unclear, but because the people refused to listen. Their idolatry was the outward expression of inward refusal.
Jeremiah 11:11-14, The Curse upon the Covenant Breakers
Jeremiah 11:11-14, “Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape, and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. Then shall the cities Judah and inhabitants Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense, but they shall not save them at all in the time their trouble. For according to the number thy cities were thy gods, O Judah, and according to the number the streets Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.”
Because Judah broke the covenant, the LORD promises calamity they will not be able to escape. This is one of the severe realities of covenant judgment. For years they could have returned, repented, and sought mercy. But persistent refusal brought them to a point where judgment was fixed.
God says that when they cry to Him, He will not listen. This is one of the most frightening statements in Scripture. The silence of God in the day of trouble is a terrible judgment. They had refused to hear Him when He called, and now He will refuse to hear them when they cry.
Proverbs 1:24-31, “Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded, But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh, When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer, they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me, For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear the LORD, They would none my counsel, they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat the fruit their own way, and be filled with their own devices.”
Judah would then cry to the false gods to whom they had offered incense. But those gods would not save them. This exposes idolatry at the point of crisis. False gods may deceive in prosperity, but they are useless in trouble. They cannot hear, answer, deliver, forgive, or redeem.
The extent of idolatry is described, “according to the number thy cities were thy gods,” and “according to the number the streets Jerusalem” were altars to Baal. Idolatry had become widespread. It was not a small pocket of rebellion. It filled cities and streets.
The LORD again tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people. This repeats the severe instruction from Jeremiah 7. The prophet was an intercessor by instinct, but God forbids intercession in this case because the nation had hardened itself beyond the point where prayer would avert the coming judgment. They would cry not because they hated sin, but because they hated trouble. God says He will not hear them in the time they cry because of their trouble.
Jeremiah 11:15-17, The Disappointment of Rejected Love
Jeremiah 11:15-17, “What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and goodly fruit, with the noise a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches it are broken. For the LORD hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil the house Israel and the house Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.”
The LORD calls Judah “my beloved.” This is tender and painful. God’s judgment is not the anger of an indifferent deity. It is the righteous response of the covenant LORD whose love has been rejected. Judah was His beloved, yet she had committed lewdness with many. The imagery is that of an unfaithful wife who still comes into the husband’s house while continuing adultery.
God asks, “What hath my beloved to do in mine house?” The temple was the LORD’s house, but Judah had no right to use it as a religious cover while practicing spiritual adultery. Temple access did not excuse covenant betrayal.
“The holy flesh is passed from thee” likely refers to sacrificial meat and temple ritual no longer being acceptable or effective for them. Their sacrifices could not protect them because they rejoiced in evil. This is the mark of a sin sick people. They do not merely fall into evil, they celebrate it.
Proverbs 2:14, “Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness the wicked.”
God had called Israel “A green olive tree, fair, and goodly fruit.” This describes beauty, fruitfulness, covenant privilege, and divine planting. The olive tree was valuable and enduring. God had planted His people to be lovely and fruitful. But because of their idolatry, He would kindle fire upon the tree, and its branches would be broken.
This anticipates later biblical olive tree imagery concerning Israel.
Romans 11:17-21, “And if some the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest the root and fatness the olive tree, Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well, because unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear, For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.”
Jeremiah’s immediate context concerns Judah’s judgment under the Mosaic covenant, but the broader biblical principle remains, privilege without faith produces judgment. The LORD who planted them pronounced evil against them because they provoked Him by offering incense to Baal. Their sin was also described as something “they have done against themselves.” Sin always offends God, but it also destroys the sinner.
Jeremiah 11:18-19, Jeremiah Learns of the Threat Against Him
Jeremiah 11:18-19, “And the LORD hath given me knowledge it, and I know it, then thou shewedst me their doings. But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter, and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land the living, that his name may be no more remembered.”
The chapter now turns from the conspiracy of Judah against the covenant to the conspiracy against Jeremiah himself. The LORD revealed the plot to Jeremiah. This shows divine protection over the prophet. Jeremiah did not know the danger until God showed him. His enemies were plotting secretly, but nothing was hidden from the LORD.
Jeremiah says, “I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter.” He was unsuspecting, defenseless, and vulnerable. His enemies had devised plans against him, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof.” They wanted not only to silence Jeremiah but to destroy the fruit of his ministry. They wanted to cut him off from the land of the living and erase his name from memory.
This is especially bitter because, as the next verses show, these enemies were men of Anathoth, Jeremiah’s own hometown. He was rejected not only by strangers, but by his own people.
The phrase about the lamb brought to slaughter naturally points forward to Christ, though Jeremiah himself is the immediate subject. Jeremiah’s suffering foreshadows the greater rejection of the Lord Jesus, who was also rejected by His own.
John 1:11, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth, he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
Acts 8:32, “The place the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.”
Jeremiah was a faithful servant who suffered rejection. Christ is the perfect Servant who suffered rejection and gave Himself as the Lamb of God.
Jeremiah 11:20, Jeremiah’s Prayer and Confidence
Jeremiah 11:20, “But, O LORD hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them, for unto thee have I revealed my cause.”
Jeremiah responds to the plot by praying. He addresses God as “LORD hosts,” the commander of heavenly armies. This title matters because Jeremiah is threatened by men, but he appeals to the God who commands all power.
He also confesses that God judges righteously and tries the reins and the heart. The “reins” refer to the inward parts, the seat of deep motives and affections. Jeremiah does not ask for blind revenge. He appeals to the God who sees motives, tests hearts, and judges rightly.
Jeremiah asks, “let me see thy vengeance on them.” This may sound severe to modern ears, but Jeremiah is not taking personal vengeance. He reveals his cause to God. He places the matter in God’s hands. Vengeance belongs to the LORD, not to the prophet.
Deuteronomy 32:35, “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence, their foot shall slide in due time, for the day their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.”
Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Jeremiah models the right response to betrayal. He does not pretend evil is harmless. He does not take vengeance into his own hands. He brings his cause before the righteous Judge.
Jeremiah 11:21-23, God’s Promise to Punish the Men of Anathoth
Jeremiah 11:21-23, “Therefore thus saith the LORD the men Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name the LORD, that thou die not by our hand, Therefore thus saith the LORD hosts, Behold, I will punish them, the young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, And there shall be no remnant them, for I will bring evil upon the men Anathoth, even the year their visitation.”
The LORD identifies the conspirators as the men of Anathoth. This was Jeremiah’s own hometown. The pain of this cannot be overstated. The prophet who had been called by God to speak to Judah was rejected and threatened by the very people among whom he had grown up.
Their command was, “Prophesy not in the name the LORD, that thou die not by our hand.” They did not merely dislike Jeremiah’s personality. They hated the message. They wanted him to stop preaching in the name of the LORD. The issue was the word of God. Jeremiah’s life was threatened because he spoke truth.
This pattern is common in Scripture. Faithful men are often opposed not because they are wrong, but because they are right and the truth cuts too deeply.
2 Timothy 4:2-4, “Preach the word, be instant in season, out season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
God promises to punish the men of Anathoth. Their young men would die by the sword, and their sons and daughters by famine. There would be no remnant of them. The year of their visitation would come. Those who tried to silence the prophet would face the judgment the prophet had announced.
This must have been deeply painful for Jeremiah. God defended him, but the judgment fell on his own village. Faithfulness to God can divide a man from his own people. The Lord Jesus warned that loyalty to Him would sometimes create conflict even in the closest earthly relationships.
Matthew 10:34-36, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they his own household.”
Jeremiah’s experience anticipates this principle. The man who speaks God’s word may be hated even by those nearest to him. But the LORD sees, the LORD judges, and the LORD defends His servants according to His will.
Doctrinal and Practical Notes
Jeremiah 11 teaches that covenant privilege brings covenant accountability. Judah had the law, the temple, the land, the sacrifices, and the history of redemption from Egypt. These blessings did not reduce responsibility. They increased it.
Jeremiah 11 teaches that obedience is central to covenant relationship. God’s repeated command was, “Obey my voice.” Sacrifice, ritual, and religious speech could not replace obedience.
Jeremiah 11 teaches that God is patient in warning. He rose early and protested from the days of the fathers until Jeremiah’s generation. Judgment came after long refusal, not sudden harshness.
Jeremiah 11 teaches that following the imagination of the evil heart leads to covenant curse. The heart must be governed by God’s word. When men follow the heart apart from Scripture, they move toward destruction.
Jeremiah 11 teaches that rebellion can become corporate and organized. God called Judah’s apostasy a conspiracy. A culture can become so united in rebellion that it functions like a coordinated plot against the LORD.
Jeremiah 11 teaches that false gods cannot save in the time of trouble. Judah would cry to the gods she served, but they would not save. Idols always fail when judgment comes.
Jeremiah 11 teaches that God may refuse to hear crisis prayers when people have persistently rejected correction. Judah cried because of trouble, not because of true repentance. God told Jeremiah not to pray for them because judgment was fixed.
Jeremiah 11 teaches that God’s love does not cancel His holiness. Judah was God’s beloved and a green olive tree, yet He pronounced judgment because of her lewdness and Baal worship. Love rejected does not remove justice.
Jeremiah 11 teaches that faithful ministry often brings personal opposition. Jeremiah’s own hometown plotted to kill him. A preacher who speaks God’s word may be hated by those who should know him best.
Jeremiah 11 teaches that the suffering prophet points forward to Christ. Jeremiah was like a lamb brought to slaughter, rejected by his own. Christ is the true Lamb who was rejected by His own and gave Himself for sinners.
John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb God, which taketh away the sin the world.”
Summary
Jeremiah 11 confronts Judah with the broken covenant. God commands Jeremiah to proclaim the words of the covenant in Judah and Jerusalem. The LORD reminds the people that He brought their fathers out of Egypt, the iron furnace, and commanded them to obey His voice. If they obeyed, they would be His people, and He would be their God. But the covenant also carried curses for disobedience.
Judah refused to hear. They followed the imagination of their evil hearts and broke the covenant. God describes their rebellion as a conspiracy. They returned to the sins of their forefathers, refused His words, served other gods, and provoked Him with Baal worship. Therefore calamity would come, and they would not escape. Their false gods would not save them, and God would not hear their cries of trouble. Jeremiah was again told not to pray for them.
The LORD then laments the treachery of His beloved. Judah had no right to stand in His house while committing lewdness with many. She rejoiced in evil. Though God had called her a green olive tree, fair and fruitful, He would kindle fire upon her branches because of her idolatry.
The chapter then turns to the conspiracy against Jeremiah. God reveals that men from Anathoth, Jeremiah’s own hometown, were plotting to kill him and silence his prophecy. Jeremiah compares himself to a lamb brought to slaughter and entrusts his cause to the LORD of hosts, the righteous Judge who tests the heart. God promises to punish the men of Anathoth in the year of their visitation.
