Jeremiah 11:22, commentary and pictures

The chapters of Jeremiah are not all arranged in chronological order, so the historical setting of this verse must be determined from the events of its time rather than its position in the book. It stands within Jeremiah 3-21, whose meaning is awful denunciation against sin joined with sorrow of heart over the people's transgression and most touching appeals to return to God, met with utter lack of response by the mass of them. It is part of Jeremiah's warning that Israel's wilful sin would soon be punished by Babylon.

The people violated and broke the covenant God made with them when He brought them out of Egypt, and by breaking it forfeited its blessings and promised blessings. The declared judgment is that the young men shall die by the sword and their sons and daughters shall die by famine. The chapter connects this judgment with the breaking off of Israel's branches from the olive tree because of that violation of the covenant. The good olive tree represents the family of Abraham adopted by God, broken off because they continued not in His covenant. The announcement marks the old covenant as failing through the people's disobedience, before the later promise of a new covenant.

God Himself will punish with sword, famine and utter removal those who hate His faithful messengers and seek to silence their testimony by threats and death. Those who rebuke presumptuous professors as Jeremiah rebuked the Jews must expect to be hated for faithfulness even when harmless and gentle as the lamb, patient and laborious as the ox, devoid of guile, weeping over sinners and praying and laboring for their good. Persecutors abhor reproof and would put faithful warners to death if they could, to destroy them so they will no longer remember or be tormented by their testimony. In every age ungodly priests are ringleaders in persecuting faithful warners, and as at Anathoth a man's foes are those of his own household and a prophet is without honor in his own country.

The Lord knows His servants and can protect them against all devices, and He will plead their cause and execute vengeance on their enemies in the year of visitation. Those to whom God discovers the enmity and devices of opposers have comfort in appealing to Him as the heart-searching righteous Judge that they suffer for well-doing and not for evil-doing, committing their cause to Him. They are to watch their spirits not to be overcome with evil but by patient continuance in praying for enemies and showing them kindness to overcome evil with good. The verse is appointed for morning reading on October 26 with Jeremiah 9 and 10.