Jeremiah (1-31) 11:18 Commentary and Bible Study

‘And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it.’ This could relate to the evils of the nation which have just been described, but the following words – ‘then thou shewedst me their doings’ – seem to refer to what follows. He would not have known all the evils that were plotted against him if God had not shown him. All things will be brought out into the open and all secrets will be judged on the last day, but the extent of evil in this world right now is known only to God. He tells us enough for us to see the enmity of this world against his cause and against his servants. The doings of evil men – their plotting against Jeremiah in this case – are the proof of their evil condition. ‘But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.’ Jeremiah’s agile mind finds a simile for every situation. He was being brought by these evil men like an animal that is led to the place of sacrifice. It does not know what its captors intend to do, and they seem to have it completely in their power. He did not know that they were planning and plotting evil devices against him. The evil that is in men’s hearts is often hidden from us, but what we do not see, God sees and acts as our defender. The fact that we do not see is not a serious disadvantage to us, because God’s providence holds us and them in his hand, and he surrounds us with his knowledge. All things work for our good, and all things work for their harm, and they cannot tell what he will use against them. Changing the imagery again, Jeremiah’s enemies speak of him as a tree which is to be cut down, so that the tree and its fruit is destroyed. The fruit perhaps represents his ministry to them which they found so unpleasant because of its directness in exposing their sin. They knew him to be someone they could not win over by flattery or coercion, and since he could not be corrupted, he must be destroyed.Having been made aware by the Lord of their real intent, he prays for deliverance: ‘But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.’ He had been told not to pray for them anymore, and it was revealed to him that they would not recover from this apostacy. He now prays for God’s vengeance on them from which they would be unable to escape. He is not calling for personal revenge, but for revenge for the sake of God’s truth. The saints will join with God’s verdict on the Day of Judgment and fully endorse all that he determines to do. They know that he is wise and holy and just, and they welcome the judgment that has been so long delayed, and with sets all thing right, and answers to the evil that has been done in the history of the world. What distresses us so much about this world’s justice, is that it is so inadequate, and it fails to meet evil with a suitable punishment. But in that day, nothing will be omitted. Jeremiah appeals to the Lord as the one in whose care he has placed his cause. God loves him and will gather up his tears and not forget any of them. ‘Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand.’ The false prophets have claimed to be true prophets, and for a time the ignorant did not know the difference. Men of truth knew, but their verdict was contested by men of the world, and God seemed to keep his ruling to himself. But his light will eventually shine on all things, and expose the darkness (Ephesians 5:11-13). But even before that God commands the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day to stop their prophesying, or else they will die. He has not sent them, and it is a very great transgression to for a man to speak in the name of the Lord when he has not been sent. God will punish even the next generation of these false prophets – no doubt for their own personal sins, as well as for their fathers’ sakes. God will visit the men of Anathoth – the habitation of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1) – and they will arrive at the day of God’s visitation of judgment on them.