(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)
Jeremiah has made it clear that the royal house of David, because of its oppression of the poor, will be destroyed. Now he concentrates on the "shepherds", the prophets whose teachings should be leading the people to righteousness.
Jeremiah 23:1-4, Woe to the shepherds
"Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD.
Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD.
"I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD.
The current shepherds will be replaced and when the people are brought back to Judah, new shepherds will take care of the flock.
Jeremiah 23:5-6, YHWH our Righteousness
"The days are coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.
The coming king will have a name that is not just "Lord" but YHWH, Our Righteousness.
Jeremiah 23:7-8, Returning from all the countries
"So then, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when people will no longer say, `As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' but they will say, `As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' Then they will live in their own land."
It is not just the exodus from Egypt that will be remembered, but the gathering of the people back to Israel.
Jeremiah 23:9-10, Concerning the prophets
Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me;
all my bones tremble.
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the LORD
and his holy words.
The land is full of adulterers;
because of the curse the land lies parched
and the pastures in the desert are withered.
The [prophets] follow an evil course
and use their power unjustly.
The prophets, who should be confronting the leaders, have turned away from YHWH and use their power for evil.
Jeremiah 23:11-12, Godless prophets and priests
"Both prophet and priest are godless;
even in my temple I find their wickedness,"
declares the LORD.
"Therefore their path will become slippery;
they will be banished to darkness
and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year they are punished,"
declares the LORD.
The prophets and priests together promote evil. They will eventually be judged and punished.
Jeremiah 23:13-14, Godless prophets and priests
"Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible:
They commit adultery and live a lie.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from his wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah."
Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty says concerning the prophets:
"I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the land."
Whether north in Samaria or south in Jerusalem, the prophets lie, worship idols, commit adultery. They recreate Sodom and Gomorrah. And so they will eat and drink poison.
Jeremiah 23:16-18, The prophets do not speak for YHWH
This is what the LORD Almighty says:
"Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the LORD.
They keep saying to those who despise me,
`The LORD says: You will have peace.'
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say,
`No harm will come to you.'
But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
God says, "Do not listen to these prophets!" These false prophets, speaking reassuring words, do not speak for God; they have not stood in God's council and listened to Him.
Jeremiah 23:19-22, A storm
See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.
The anger of the LORD will not turn back
until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart.
In days to come you will understand it clearly.
I did not send these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
But if they had stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.
The prophets were not sent by God. He did not send them and instead He will send a storm, a whirlwind of anger.
Jeremiah 23:23-24, Fills the heavens and earth
"Am I only a God nearby,"
declares the LORD,
"and not a God far away?
Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him?"
declares the LORD.
"Do not I fill heaven and earth?"
declares the LORD.
Is YHWH merely a local god? No, He is God of all the earth and nothing is hidden from Him.
Jeremiah 23:25-28, I had a dream!
"I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, `I had a dream! I had a dream!'
How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship.
Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the LORD.
The false prophets claim to have had dreams but the dreams are merely delusions of their own minds. The false prophets promote the worship of Baal and hope the people will forget YHWH.
Jeremiah 23:29-31, Like fire or hammer
"Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
"Therefore," declares the LORD, "I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Yes," declares the LORD, "I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, `The LORD declares.' Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," declares the LORD. "They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least," declares the LORD.
The false prophets, who claim to speak for God, draw His wrath.
Jeremiah 23:33-36, Every man an oracle
"When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, `What is the oracle of the LORD?' say to them, `What oracle? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.' If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, `This is the oracle of the LORD,' I will punish that man and his household.
This is what each of you keeps on saying to his friend or relative: `What is the LORD's answer?' or `What has the LORD spoken?' But you must not mention `the oracle of the LORD' again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God.
Each person acts like a prophet, with their words like oracles. But they distort the words of YHWH, the living God who watches and remembers.
Jeremiah 23:37-40, Everlasting disgrace
This is what you keep saying to a prophet: `What is the LORD's answer to you?' or `What has the LORD spoken?'
Although you claim, `This is the oracle of the LORD,' this is what the LORD says: You used the words, `This is the oracle of the LORD,' even though I told you that you must not claim, `This is the oracle of the LORD.'
Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers. I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace--everlasting shame that will not be forgotten."
The false prophets will face everlasting shame and disgrace.
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