Study notes

Jeremiah 15

Introducing JeremiahWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

13:1–24:10 Section

Jeremiah shared God’s judgement messages again and again in many ways. Some he shared through an action of prophecy. This was the case with the linen belt and the clay jar from the potter. It was also the case with how Jeremiah wasn’t to get married or have children.

Other messages Jeremiah spoke as poems or simply when talking with someone. This was the case when he spoke with Pashhur and the officials sent by Zedekiah. God compared his people to many different things in his messages. This gave his people pictures to help them understand what he wanted to say. He compared them to wineskins, clay being shaped by a potter and baskets of figs. He compared them to a prostitute and to a wife who wasn’t faithful to her husband. In that picture, God was the husband. The people and leaders of the southern kingdom were the wife. Worshipping false gods was how they were unfaithful to him.

God compared the leaders to shepherds. In that picture, the people were God’s sheep. The kings, priests and prophets were shepherds who destroyed and scattered them. Sometimes God sent his messages with a sign. This was the case when God didn’t let it rain for a time. False prophets shared messages that weren’t from God. Their messages were lies about peace and good times. This made God very angry.

Jeremiah shared God’s messages faithfully. God had warned Jeremiah that the people and leaders would fight against him. This happened many times. People refused to listen to Jeremiah and they made fun of him. They made evil plans against him, beat him and put him in prison. God had promised to be with Jeremiah. God had promised to save him from those who treated him badly. But Jeremiah was suffering terribly. He felt that God had tricked him when he promised to be with him. Yet Jeremiah remained faithful to God as he suffered. In this way he was like Job.

Jeremiah was honest with God when he prayed. His prayers were like the poems and songs in the book of Psalms. They included cries for help and complaining. Jeremiah also praised God and talked about how he trusted in God. The message of hope in chapter 23 talked about a king from the family line of David. He wouldn’t be like the greedy kings of the southern kingdom. He would follow God’s rules for kings recorded in Deuteronomy 17:14–20. This king was called a godly Branch. Isaiah had prophesied about this Branch as well (Isaiah 11:1–3).

Jews came to understand this message of hope as a prophecy about the messiah. New Testament writers came to understand it as a prophecy about Jesus. Jesus is the Branch who makes people right with God.

15:1

Moses and Samuel were known for their intercessory prayer. Several times, when they prayed for the rebellious Israelites, the Lord withdrew his threatened punishment (see Exodus 32:11–14; Numbers 14:13–20; 1 Samuel 7:8–10). However, now even their intervention would not have worked.

15:2

The people had nowhere to escape from death, war, famine, and captivity.

15:5

These are rhetorical questions. The answer is "no one!"

15:6–7

The people heard the accusation that they had abandoned God and turned away from him before (Jeremiah 2:13), but they did not take it seriously. Although the Lord often gave them another chance to repent, their sin provoked him to enforce the curses of the Sinai covenant (Deuteronomy 27:15–26).

15:8–9

Both the old and young men would pass away.

15:10

Jeremiah felt deep grief when people hated and cursed him without reason.

15:10–21

Jeremiah shared his feelings with God about the unfair treatment he faced for delivering God's message. In response, God promised to protect and care for him.

15:11

When the people faced trouble and distress, they asked Jeremiah to speak for them.

15:11–14

The Lord answered Jeremiah's complaint with comfort and explained what would happen soon.

15:12

Iron and bronze symbolize the strong will that the Lord would give to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:18).

15:13–14

It is unclear if the Lord was speaking about Jeremiah's future or Judah's future. If about Jeremiah, this prediction came true after Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, when Jeremiah and Baruch were taken to Egypt against their will (see Jeremiah 41–44). If it refers to Judah's future, the prediction came true with the fall of Jerusalem and the Exile.

15:15–18

Jeremiah's prayer reveals a key moment in his relationship with the Lord. Persecution had weakened him. Jeremiah might have started to think like the rebellious people of Judah.

15:16–17

Jeremiah was happy to share God's word, even though it meant he could not join the joyful feasts of his sinful people. He complained about the unfairness he experienced (Jeremiah 15:18).

15:18

Jeremiah asked two rhetorical questions that suggest he should not have to suffer.

15:19

The Lord told Jeremiah he needed to make a decision. If Jeremiah chose to serve and submit, the Lord would make him useful again. If Jeremiah spoke words of submission, faith, and obedience, and rejected worthless words (like those of the false prophets, Jeremiah 14:14–16), he could continue as the Lord’s spokesman.

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources