LISTEN TO THE TERMS OF THE COVENANT

Jeremiah 11:1-17 / Keywords 11:6

The LORD said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: 'Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them.

 

The Covenant Is Broken

11:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3 Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— 4 the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen, Lord.”

6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. 7 From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” 8 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’”

9 Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 12 The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. 13 You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

14 “Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.

15 “What is my beloved doing in my temple

    as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?

    Can consecrated meat avert your punishment?

When you engage in your wickedness,

    then you rejoice.[a]”

16 The Lord called you a thriving olive tree

    with fruit beautiful in form.

But with the roar of a mighty storm

    he will set it on fire,

    and its branches will be broken.

17 The Lord Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal.

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 11:15 Or Could consecrated meat avert your punishment? / Then you would rejoice

1. The Lord commanded Jeremiah to remind Israel of the terms of the covenant he made with them (1-5). God brought them out of Egypt, and he promised to make them his people if they obeyed him from then on. As God’s people, their most important duty was to remember and keep that covenant. However, they broke their covenant with God, causing all of Israel’s current suffering (8). They neglected to worship God and, as a result, worshiped idols like they once did in Egypt (13). This made God’s judgment on them unavoidable (11).

 

2. However, God offers a new covenant with us that is greater than the one he made with Israel because it is a life-giving covenant of grace in Jesus. We enter a personal covenant relationship with Jesus through faith in his blood. This covenant is the basis of our new life as God’s people. We are naturally forgetful, and it’s easy for us to live focusing only on our current situations. But if we forget God’s covenant, we will fall back into sins we thought we had left behind (10). Let’s read the terms of God’s covenant with us in Bible and remind each other of it also.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for the covenant promise you gave me in Jesus. Help me remember your covenant and also teach it to others.

One Word Remember God’s covenant with us