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| JEREMIAH |
| Explanatory Footnotes - page 2 |
| prediction came true. Jesus quoted the reference to a den of robbers when driving out moneychangers from the rebuilt temple (Mark 11:17). 9:1 A Fountain of Tears Jeremiah never stood aside like a stern moralist, enjoying others' well-deserved sufferings. He felt the bitterness of the judgment he announced. "Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me" (8:21). In the end, Jeremiah swallowed the bitter medicine of exile like the others. Jeremiah reminds us of another "man of sorrows." Like Jesus, Jeremiah wept over Jerusalem. Like Jesus, he was rejected by his own hometown (11:18-23). Jeremiah even compared himself to a lamb led to the slaughter (11:19), language that would later be applied to Jesus' sacrifice for our sins. 11:23 Hometown Enemies Jeremiah's life was endangered several times because of his message. On this occasion, men from his hometown were plotting against him. Though Jeremiah was completely unprepared for their attack, God protected him. Other prophets, however, had been killed (2:30). 12:16 Hope for the Gentiles Through most of the Old Testamant, Israel's Gentile neighbors seem to have no part in God's plan. Here, though, God clearly promises them his salvation. 14:11 God's Patience Exhausted God gave Jeremiah these dreaded instructions, repeated nowhere else in the Bible: "Do not pray for this people . . . because I will not listen" (11:14). He repeated that message twice (7:16; 14:11). He told Jeremiah, "Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence!" (15:1). |