14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.
15 “What right has My beloved in My house
When she has done many vile deeds?
Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster,
[f]So that you can rejoice?”
16 The Lord called your name,
“A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form”;
With the noise of a great tumult
He has kindled fire on it,
And its branches are worthless.17 The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have [g]done to provoke Me by [h]offering up sacrifices to Baal.
Plots against Jeremiah
18 Moreover, the Lord made it known to me and I knew it;
Then You showed me their deeds.
19 But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had devised plots against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its [i]fruit,
And let us cut him off from the land of the living,
That his name be remembered no more.”
20 But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,
Who tries the [j]feelings and the heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You have I [k]committed my cause.21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not die at our hand”; 22 therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; 23 and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—the year of their punishment.”
There are two main themes in the latter half of this chapter. First, we see God comparing Israel to an adulteress, especially in v. 15, where other translations say “lewd deeds”. For so they were, and worse, when the people sought after Baal and the other false gods whose craven rituals included prostitution and human sacrifice.
Rightly, God points out their hypocrisy, as they want His protection despite their wickedness. After all, they might have said, “We did what you asked! We’ve sinned, and brought the requisite sacrifice. You have to forgive us and take us back!” Yet sacrifice was supposed to be about repentance, about turning back to God.
We see such an example in King David, when Nathan the prophet convicts David of both adultery and murder. His attitude turns towards repentance at once, and he is not longer consumed by selfishness, but his care turns to the child who would be lost as a result of their sin. Unlike David, the people of Jeremiah’s day, even his home village of Anathoth, went from bad to worse.
Not only did they ignore God’s message of repentance, even though King Josiah himself had commanded it, but they were seeking to kill the messenger as well. It is possible that they had a pretty good thing going, financially speaking and catering to their lusts.
It could have been much like the silversmiths of Ephesus, who called for Paul’s demise after many were turning from idol worship to serving God. They made good money on their idols and trinkets for worship, and it was most upsetting to see their profits melting away. So it could have been for these men of Anathoth, when Josiah ordered the closing and destruction of the “high places” used for idol worship.
Then their local boy, Jeremiah, comes along preaching a supporting message, and they were ready to “cut him off”. And still, these very people had the gall to come into the temple and offer sacrifices and expect that God would honor them and protect them from their enemies.
It makes sense when we see it in such stark terms, but plain and simple, God is not about fire insurance. He desires our hearts and obedience, not sacrifice and ritual. None of these sacrifices ever made God smile, but they were necessary to remind the people to repent and do deeds that would make God smile. We should not be chomping at the bit, pushing to see how close we can get to crossing the line.
Rather, our focus should be on doing what God asks, and doing it with our whole heart. We don’t need fire insurance to keep us out of hell, we need changed hearts that are ready to be molded, like clay in the hands of the master Potter. I’m reminded of when Jesus said, “Don’t you know that I would be about my Father’s business?” Ask God to soften your heart today, that we would also be about our Father’s business also, not grudgingly or half-hearted, but all in.