# Jeremiah 06 đ: Jerusalem Under Siege
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted
[[#Verse 01.]]Â âRun for safety, people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem!
Sound the trumpet in Tekoa!
Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster lurks out of the north;
it will bring great destruction.
[[#Verse 02.]] I will destroy Daughter Zion,
who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden.
[[#Verse 03.]]Â Kings will attack her with their armies.
They will encamp in siege all around her.
Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him.
[[#Verse 04.]] They will say, âPrepare to do battle against it!
Come on! Letâs attack it at noon!â
But later they will say, âWoe to us!
For the day is almost over,
and the shadows of evening are getting long.
[[#Verse 05.]]Â So come on, letâs go ahead and attack it by night
and destroy all its fortified buildings.â
[[#Verse 06.]] All this is because the Lord of Heavenâs Armies has said:
âCut down the trees around Jerusalem
and build up a siege ramp against its walls.
This is the city that is to be punished.
Nothing but oppression happens in it.
[[#Verse 07.]]Â As a well continually pours out fresh water
so it continually pours out wicked deeds.
Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it.
All I see are sick and wounded people.â
[[#Verse 08.]] So take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will abandon you in disgust
and make you desolate,
a place where no one can live.â
[[#Verse 09.]] This is what the Lord of Heavenâs Armies said to me: âThose who remain in Israel will be like the grapes thoroughly gleaned from a vine.
So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester
passing your hand over the branches one last time.â
[[#Verse 10.]] I answered, âWho would listen if I spoke to them and warned them? Their ears are so closed that they cannot hear! Indeed, the Lordâs message is offensive to them. They do not like it at all.
[[#Verse 11.]] I am as full of anger as you are, Lord, I am tired of trying to hold it in.â The Lord answered, âVent it, then, on the children who play in the street and on the young men who are gathered together. Husbands and wives are to be included, as well as the old and those who are advanced in years.
[[#Verse 12.]]Â Their houses will be turned over to others
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will unleash my power
against those who live in this land,â
says the Lord.
[[#Verse 13.]]Â âThat is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit.
[[#Verse 14.]]Â They offer only superficial help for the harm my people have suffered. They say, âEverything will be all right!â But everything is not all right!
[[#Verse 15.]] Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things? No, they are not at all ashamed. They do not even know how to blush! So they will die, just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,â says the Lord.
[[#Verse 16.]] The Lord said to his people: âYou are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. Ask where the old, reliable paths are. Ask where the path is that leads to blessing and follow it. If you do, you will find rest for your souls.â But they said, âWe will not follow it!â
[[#Verse 17.]] The Lord said, âI appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you, saying, âPay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!ââ But they said, âWe will not pay attention!â
[[#Verse 18.]] So the Lord said, âHear, you nations!
Be witnesses and take note of what will happen to these people.
[[#Verse 19.]]Â Hear this, you peoples of the earth:
âTake note! I am about to bring disaster on these people.
It will come as punishment for their scheming.
For they have paid no attention to what I have said,
and they have rejected my law.
[[#Verse 20.]] I take no delight when they offer up to me
frankincense that comes from Sheba
or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land.
I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me.
I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.ââ
[[#Verse 21.]] So, this is what the Lord says: âI will assuredly make these people stumble to their doom. Parents and children will stumble and fall to their destruction. Friends and neighbors will die.â
[[#Verse 22.]] This is what the Lord says: âBeware! An army is coming from a land in the north. A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.
[[#Verse 23.]]Â Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears.
They are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
as they ride forth on their horses.
Lined up in formation like men going into battle
to attack you, Daughter Zion.â
[[#Verse 24.]] The people cry out, âWe have heard reports about them.
We have become helpless with fear!
Anguish grips us,
agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!
[[#Verse 25.]]Â Do not go out into the countryside.
Do not travel on the roads.
For the enemy is there with sword in hand.
They are spreading terror everywhere.â
[[#Verse 26.]] So I said, âOh, my dear people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now that destructive army will come against us.â
[[#Verse 27.]] The Lord said to me, âI have made you like a metal assayer to test my people like ore. You are to observe them and evaluate how they behave.â
[[#Verse 28.]]Â I reported, âAll of them are the most stubborn of rebels! They are as hard as bronze or iron. They go about telling lies. They all deal corruptly.
[[#Verse 29.]]Â The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely.
But there is too much dross to be removed.
The process of refining them has proved useless.
The wicked have not been purged.
[[#Verse 30.]]Â They are regarded as ârejected silverâ
because the Lord rejects them.â
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Tekoa (6:1) was a town south of Bethlehem and the hometown of the prophet Amos. The command to sound the trumpet there (*tiq'u*) is a wordplay on the town's name.
2. Beth Hakkerem (6:1) means "house of the vineyard" and was a hill town near Jerusalem where a signal fire could be seen.
3. The people of Benjamin, Jeremiah's own tribe, are told to flee from Jerusalem (6:1).
4. Ancient armies preferred to attack at noon or by night (6:4-5). The enemies are so eager they cannot wait.
5. Besieging armies cut down trees to build siege ramps against city walls (6:6).
6. "Peace, peace, when there is no peace" (6:14) is repeated almost word for word in 8:11.
7. Frankincense from Sheba and "sweet cane" from a distant land (6:20) were expensive imports used in worship.
8. Jesus quotes the words "you will find rest for your souls" (6:16) in Matthew 11:29.
9. Jeremiah is called an assayer, a tester of metals (6:27). Refining removes impurities from silver with fire.
10. The people are called "rejected silver" (6:30) because the refining did not remove their wickedness.
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the good way and the rest for our souls. God told His people to walk in the ancient paths and find rest (6:16), and Jesus echoes these words when He says, "Come to Me... and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. The leaders said "Peace, peace" when there was no peace (6:14). How do we try to treat serious wounds lightly in our own lives?
2. God told them to stand at the crossroads and ask for the ancient paths (6:16). What are some "ancient paths" Christians should not abandon?
3. God rejected their incense and offerings (6:19-20). Why does God refuse worship that is separated from obedience?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 14: They treat the wound of My people lightly, saying, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace.
- đ verse 16: Stand at the crossroads, ask for the ancient paths, walk in the good way, and find rest for your souls.
- đ verse 19: God brings disaster because the people did not listen to His words and rejected His law.
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[Matthew 11#Verse 28.|Matthew 11:28-29]] - Come to Me and find rest for your souls.
- đ [[Ezekiel 13#Verse 10.|Ezekiel 13:10]] - False prophets say "Peace" when there is no peace.
- đ [[1 Thessalonians 05#Verse 03.|1 Thessalonians 5:3]] - When they say "Peace and security," destruction comes.
- đ [[Isaiah 01#Verse 11.|Isaiah 1:11-13]] - God rejects empty sacrifices.
- đ [[Malachi 03#Verse 02.|Malachi 3:2-3]] - The Lord will refine His people like silver.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Jeremiah 06 - SOAP|If It Is New, It Is Not True]]
## đ Internal Notes