August 1, 2025
Obedience isn't always easy.
Jeremiah 16-18
Rachel Smith
Big Book Idea
Being a messenger of truth in a dark place can be challenging, but it is worth it.
Key Verse | Jeremiah 18:18
Then they said, "Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words."
Jeremiah 16-18
Chapter 16
Famine, Sword, and Death
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. 3 For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: 4 They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.
5 For thus says the LORD: Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament or grieve for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, my steadfast love and mercy, declares the LORD. 6 Both great and small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them or cut himself or make himself bald for them. 7 No one shall break bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead, nor shall anyone give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother. 8 You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink. 9 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will silence in this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
10 And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them: ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the LORD, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, 12 and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me. 13 Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’
The LORD Will Restore Israel
14 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.
16 Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the LORD, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. 17 For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. 18 But first I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”
19
O LORD, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of trouble,
to you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,
worthless things in which there is no profit.
20
Can man make for himself gods?
Such are not gods!”
21 “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD.”
Chapter 17
The Sin of Judah
1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, 2 while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”
5
Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
1
17:5
Hebrew arm
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
7
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
8
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10
“I the LORD search the heart
and test the mind,
2
17:10
Hebrew kidneys
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11
Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is he who gets riches but not by justice;
in the midst of his days they will leave him,
and at his end he will be a fool.
12
A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13
O LORD, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you
3
17:13
Hebrew me
shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.
Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14
Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for you are my praise.
15
Behold, they say to me,
“Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come!”
16
I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
You know what came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17
Be not a terror to me;
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18
Let those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
let them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
bring upon them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!
Keep the Sabbath Holy
19 Thus said the LORD to me: “Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 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 fathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.
24 ‘But if you listen to me, declares the LORD, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.’”
Chapter 18
The Potter and the Clay
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear 4 18:2 Or will cause you to hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’
12 But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13
Therefore thus says the LORD:
Ask among the nations,
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
has done a very horrible thing.
14
Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?
5
18:14
Hebrew of the field
Do the mountain waters run dry,
6
18:14
Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up
the cold flowing streams?
15
But my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to false gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
in the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
not the highway,
16
making their land a horror,
a thing to be hissed at forever.
Everyone who passes by it is horrified
and shakes his head.
17
Like the east wind I will scatter them
before the enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.”
18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”
19
Hear me, O LORD,
and listen to the voice of my adversaries.
20
Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
21
Therefore deliver up their children to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless and widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22
May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For they have dug a pit to take me
and laid snares for my feet.
23
Yet you, O LORD, know
all their plotting to kill me.
Forgive not their iniquity,
nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
Table of Contents
Introduction to Jeremiah
Timeline
Author and Date
Jeremiah was called to be a prophet c. 627 B.C., when he was young (1:6). He served for more than 40 years (1:2–3). Jeremiah had a difficult life. His messages of repentance delivered at the temple were not well received (7:1–8:3; 26:1–11). His hometown plotted against him (11:18–23), and he endured much persecution (20:1–6; 37:11–38:13; 43:1–7). At God’s command, he never married (16:1–4). Although he preached God’s word faithfully, he apparently had only two converts: Baruch, his scribe (32:12; 36:1–4; 45:1–5); and Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch who served the king (38:7–13; 39:15–18). Though the book does not reveal the time or place of Jeremiah’s death, he probably died in Egypt, where he had been taken by his countrymen against his will after the fall of Jerusalem (43:1–7). He most likely did not live to see the devastation he mentions in chs. 46–51.
Purpose
Jeremiah and Baruch left a record of the difficult times in which they lived, God’s message for those times, and God’s message for the future of Israel and the nations.
Key Themes
- God and humanity. God alone is a living God. God alone made the world. All other so-called gods are mere idols (10:1–16). This Creator God called Israel to a special relationship (chs. 2–6), gave her his holy word, and promised to bless her temple with his name and presence (7:1–8:3). God rules both the present and the future (1:4–16; 29:1–10), protects his chosen ones (1:17–19; 29:11–14; 39:15–18; 45:1–5), and saves those who turn to him (12:14–17). Because God is absolutely trustworthy and always keeps his promises, his grace triumphs over sin and judgment when people repent and turn to him.
The human heart is sick, and no one except God can cure it (17:9–10). The nations worship idols instead of their Creator (10:1–16). Israel, God’s covenant people, went after other gods (chs. 2–6), defiled the temple by their unwillingness to repent (7:1–8:3; 26:1–11), and oppressed one another (34:8–16). Since Israel and the nations have sinned against God (25:1–26), God the Creator is also the Judge of every nation on the earth he created (chs. 46–51).
- Old covenant, Messiah, and new covenant. God made a covenant with Israel, based on his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12–50). As time passed, God’s covenant with Israel included his promise to David of an eternal kingdom (2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17). God used Jeremiah to deliver the good news that, sometime in the future, God would “make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Jer. 31:31). This covenant would be different in one major way. The new covenant partners will not break the covenant, as most of the old partners did even though God was completely faithful (31:32). Instead, the new covenant partners will have the word of God so ingrained in their hearts through God’s power that they will know and follow God all their lives (31:33–34).
Thus, all the new covenant partners will be believers who are forgiven and empowered by God; he will “remember their sin no more” (31:34). Hebrews 8:8–12 quotes Jer. 31:31–34 as evidence that the new covenant has come through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The coming of Jesus the Messiah fulfills God’s promises to Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets.
Outline
- Introduction (1:1–19)
- Israel’s Covenantal Adultery (2:1–6:30)
- False Religion and an Idolatrous People (7:1–10:25)
- Jeremiah’s Struggles with God and Judah (11:1–20:18)
- Jeremiah’s Confrontations (21:1–29:32)
- Restoration for Judah and Israel (30:1–33:26)
- God Judges Judah (34:1–45:5)
- God’s Judgment on the Nations (46:1–51:64)
- Conclusion: The Fall of Jerusalem (52:1–34)
Israel and Judah at the Time of Jeremiah
c. 597 B.C.
The book of Jeremiah is set during the politically tumultuous times following the fall of the Assyrians and the rise of the Babylonians. During Jeremiah’s life, several groups of Judeans were deported to Babylon and the temple was destroyed. Though the precise boundaries of Judea and the surrounding regions during this period are difficult to determine, they likely resembled those that previously existed under Assyrian rule, with the exception that Edom (Idumea) was now the area formerly belonging to southern Judah.
Fact: Singleness for a prophetic purpose
Singleness for a prophetic purpose. The Lord told Jeremiah not to get married. This was probably intended as a symbolic warning that life would soon be very difficult for people with children (16:1–4).
Israel and Judah at the Time of Jeremiah
c. 597 B.C.
The book of Jeremiah is set during the politically tumultuous times following the fall of the Assyrians and the rise of the Babylonians. During Jeremiah’s life, several groups of Judeans were deported to Babylon and the temple was destroyed. Though the precise boundaries of Judea and the surrounding regions during this period are difficult to determine, they likely resembled those that previously existed under Assyrian rule, with the exception that Edom (Idumea) was now the area formerly belonging to southern Judah.
Parallels between Jeremiah and Lamentations
| Jeremiah | Lamentations |
|---|---|
| I will make this house like Shiloh (chs. 7, 26) | The Lord has scorned . . . his sanctuary (2:7) |
| Let my eyes run down with tears (14:17–22) | my eyes flow with rivers of tears (3:48–51) |
| can I not do with you as this potter has done? (18:6) | regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter’s hands! (4:2) |
| eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters (19:9) | Should women eat the fruit of their womb? (2:20) |
| vain hopes (23:16) | Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions (2:14) |
Fact: Singleness for a prophetic purpose
Singleness for a prophetic purpose. The Lord told Jeremiah not to get married. This was probably intended as a symbolic warning that life would soon be very difficult for people with children (16:1–4).
Jer. 16:5 God commands Jeremiah not to attend funerals or mourn the dead, again as a testimony that God has taken away his peace. God’s protection (steadfast love) is based on his grace and Israel’s covenant faithfulness.
Jer. 16:13 a land. A place of exile (15:14). serve other gods. The ultimate punishment (Deut. 28:64). no favor. A reversal of Ex. 34:6–7.
Jer. 16:14–15 God will restore Israel after exile. This renewal will be so astounding it will be greater than the first exodus (32:37; see Deut. 30:1–10).
Jer. 16:19–20 Jeremiah’s confession of faith indicates he has repented, as he was ordered to do (15:19–21). The nations will come to Yahweh, rejecting their idols (10:1–16) and confessing that Yahweh alone is God and is able to save.
Jer. 17:1–3 pen of iron . . . point of diamond. These were tools for carving on stone, which is what their heart has become. beside every green tree, on the high hills, on the mountains. Serving idols in every conceivable location is the sin engraved on their hearts.
Jer. 17:5 Cursed. Experiencing negative consequences (Deut. 28:15–68).
Jer. 17:6 like a shrub in the desert. Alone and without resources when disaster comes.
Jer. 17:7 Blessed. Filled with God-defined benefits. whose trust is the LORD. Only trust in God motivates confident obedience in times of crisis.
Jer. 17:9 heart. The human will and emotions (see vv. 5–7). desperately sick. The sinful heart cannot be cured without God’s help (15:18; 30:12, 15; Mic. 1:9). who can understand it? A rhetorical question expecting a negative answer. However, this strongly negative assessment of the human heart does not describe the believer’s heart under the new covenant; God promises to write his law on his people’s hearts (Jer. 31:33; 32:40; see Ezek. 36:26; Heb. 10:22).
Jer. 17:12–13 glorious throne. The temple (14:21; Ps. 80:1). our sanctuary. A place of security when the people trust Yahweh, but a place of thieves when they do not (Jer. 7:1–15). written in the earth. Those who turn away from God shall die and be buried without honor (Ps. 69:28). fountain of living water. Source of spiritual strength (Jer. 17:5–8; see note on 2:12–13).
Jer. 17:14 Jeremiah prays for his own healing and salvation. my praise. That which he most values and speaks of with most joy.
Jer. 17:16 the day of sickness. Judah’s spiritual unfaithfulness and its punishment.
Jer. 17:17–18 For now Jeremiah stands with God, not the people. Thus he fulfills God’s commands in 1:7–10, 17–19; 15:19–21.
Jer. 17:24–27 Restoration of Sabbath rest and worship will result in permanent rule by David’s lineage, permanent life in the land, and permanent worship. Refusal to keep the Sabbath will result in fire in its gates, a metaphor for destruction (Amos 1:3–2:5).
Jer. 18:4 spoiled. It did not develop properly. reworked. The potter shaped and reshaped the wet clay to keep the developing vessel symmetrical.
Jer. 18:6 can I not do with you? As its maker, God can reshape Israel.
Parallels between Jeremiah and Lamentations
| Jeremiah | Lamentations |
|---|---|
| I will make this house like Shiloh (chs. 7, 26) | The Lord has scorned . . . his sanctuary (2:7) |
| Let my eyes run down with tears (14:17–22) | my eyes flow with rivers of tears (3:48–51) |
| can I not do with you as this potter has done? (18:6) | regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter’s hands! (4:2) |
| eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters (19:9) | Should women eat the fruit of their womb? (2:20) |
| vain hopes (23:16) | Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions (2:14) |
Jer. 18:7 pluck up, break down, destroy. Judgment metaphors from agriculture, construction, and war. See 1:10; 31:28; 45:4. If. Many of the biblical prophecies are conditional. Whether or not the people repent matters, because the goal of prophecy, more than simply telling the future, is the moral formation of God’s people. See note on Jonah 3:4.
Jer. 18:8 turns. From sin to God.
Jer. 18:9 Build and plant are restoration metaphors from construction and agriculture. See 1:10; 42:10.
Jer. 18:10 relent of the good. Remove the blessing the people could have received.
Jer. 18:13 Who has heard? Judah’s covenant breaking is unprecedented. See 2:10–11 for a similar question.
Jer. 18:14–16 Does the snow of Lebanon leave . . . Do the mountain waters run dry? Both questions expect a negative answer. In contrast, Judah has done the unnatural thing and deserted God.
Jer. 18:18 The people rejected the notion that Jeremiah was right and all their leaders wrong (1:17–19; 2:8; 5:13, 31; 6:13).
Jer. 18:19–20 my adversaries. Those plotting against Jeremiah.
Listen to the Podcast
Listen NowDive Deeper | Jeremiah 16-18
Have you ever felt the Lord call you to do something you did not want to do at that moment? Maybe you felt that way because the act of obedience seemed inconvenient, challenging, risky, or insignificant?
I wonder if Jeremiah may have felt similarly when God called him to boldly confront Judah with God's proclamation of judgment for the sins of Israel. The risk was high—the king of Judah could choose to kill or exile him for what he had to say. The task was challenging and inconvenient—not only would the declarations God cause Jeremiah a lack of favor in Israel, but his ministry would also come at great personal cost (Jeremiah 16:2).
Nevertheless, Jeremiah remained obedient to the call God gave him. He boldly declared God's message of warning and judgment to Judah for their sins (Jeremiah 16:17-18), and called them to repent of their idolatry and return to God (Jeremiah 18:11). Despite Jeremiah's obedience, Judah continued to worship false idols and disregard the power, presence, and sovereignty of God.
I wonder if Jeremiah ever questioned why God would go to such great lengths to warn Judah of the coming destruction and bring the people back to himself despite their great disobedience and sin. Yet we know that in the same way God continued to pursue Judah, he pursues us in spite of our brokenness! God's Word tells us in Romans 5:8, "[B]ut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Jeremiah could not control Judah's response, but he could choose to remain faithful and obedient, regardless of the outcome.
We do not always see the outcome of our obedience, nor does it always bear the fruit we hope for. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." It is important to remember that our obedience, regardless of the result, is always worth it.
This month's memory verse
"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
– Lamentations 3:21-23
Discussion Questions
1. What can we learn as believers from Jeremiah's obedience?
2. What is one area of your life in which the Lord is calling you toward radical obedience to himself?
3. God's Word tells us that "like the clay in the potter's hand, so you are in my hand, O house of Israel." (Jeremiah 18:6b) In what ways have you seen God mold you like clay in the potter's hand? (Think about ways you did not expect or necessarily desire, but deeply needed for your faith to grow.)
4. Are there any areas of your life in which you have resisted God's molding of your heart? Share with your community group and ask for prayer that God will have his way in your heart.