I. Summary
Jeremiah asks Yahweh to destroy his enemies. Yahweh vows to abandon the people but promises to return if they follow in his ways.
II. Photo
Yahweh gives up on the temple: “I have abandoned my house, I have deserted my possession” (v. 7)
III. Select Verses
4: How long must the land languish, And the grass of all the countryside dry up? Must beasts and birds perish, Because of the evil of its inhabitants, Who say, “He will not look upon our future”?
6: For even your kinsmen and your father’s house, Even they are treacherous toward you, They cry after you as a mob. Do not believe them When they speak cordially to you.
7: I have abandoned My House, I have deserted My possession, I have given over My dearly beloved Into the hands of her enemies.
13: Be shamed, then, by your harvest — By the blazing wrath of the LORD!
14-15: Thus said the LORD: As for My wicked neighbors who encroach on the heritage that I gave to My people Israel — I am going to uproot them from their soil, and I will uproot the House of Judah out of the midst of them. Then, after I have uprooted them, I will take them back into favor, and restore them each to his own inheritance and his own land.
IV. Outline
1-6. Jeremiah’s psalm-like lament (continued)
1-2. Complaint: Yahweh has allowed the evil to prosper
3a. Affirmation of loyalty
3b. Imprecation of enemies
4. Complaint: the land is dry
5-6. Complaint: Even family members are disloyal
7-13. Oracle #1
7. Yahweh has abandoned the temple
8-9. The people have rebelled
10-12. The land has been destroyed
13. The people should be ashamed
14-17. Oracle #2
14-15. Israel and its conquerors will be returned home
16. Allegiance will lead to greatness
17. Disobedience leads to destruction
V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.
VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Photo copied from http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/04/14/0414_house_460x276.jpg
