Jeremiah 14 Study Notes

14:1-17:27 The message in this long section was delivered during a severe drought (Hb batstsaroth) that hit Judah. The plural in the Hebrew may indicate the intensive nature of the drought.

14:2-6 This section is a lament with the devastation pictured as a crisis where there was no water . . . no grass, and no green plants.

14:2 Her city gates represents the cities of Judah.

14:3-4 One indication of Judah’s grief and sorrow was that the people covered their heads in shame (2Sm 15:30).

14:7 Either Jeremiah, acting on behalf of the people, or the nation itself acknowledged that the drought had struck as a result of their sin. They appealed to God to act for your name’s sake. Since God’s name expressed his character, and since his glory was known among the peoples of earth chiefly through his covenant people, those people asked God to act for the sake of his reputation and honor.

14:8 The Lord is described in one of the prophet’s favorite names for God: Hope of Israel (see 17:7,13; 50:7; Ps 71:5; Ac 28:20; Col 1:27; 1Tm 1:1). The complaint was that God seemed to show no more interest in Judah than a resident alien or a traveler who was just passing through the land.

14:9 How could God be like a warrior unable to save? Jeremiah knew God had the power to deliver his people if he wanted. Thus he knew the issue was not a lack of power on God’s part, but a decree to punish. We bear your name means “we belong to you, Lord.”

14:10 God explained his judgments on Judah. This verse reminds us of Hs 8:13; 9:9.

14:11-12 Once again the prophet was forbidden to pray for the people of Judah (see notes at 7:16-17; 15:1). The Lord would not accept any of the ritual that had no meaning, including a fast, a burnt offering, or a grain offering. Instead, God will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague.

14:13-16 The false prophets are blamed for Judah’s resistance to the word of God. More than any other prophet, Jeremiah dealt with false prophets (23:9-22; 28). Though they had been called to be revivalists who turned the people back to God, they instead flattered and promised peace.

14:14 This verse cites four methods the false prophets were using: (1) they were prophesying a lie in the Lord’s name, (2) they were using false visions and (3) worthless divination, and (4) they were speaking the deceit of their own minds.

14:17 Judah is called the virgin daughter of my people because she had been guarded and protected from pagan nations and their gods.

14:18 The word travel means “to go about” as a herdsman, or “to travel about” as a merchant or tradesperson, or even in Syriac, “to go about as a beggar.” The false prophets and priests could practice their illegitimate trade in exile, Jeremiah declared.

14:19-22 Finally, the people admitted that it was their wickedness that had brought this trouble, but in desperation they pleaded for God’s help for three reasons: (1) your name’s sake, (2) your glorious throne, and (3) your covenant. God’s throne was Jerusalem, particularly the temple (2Kg 19:15; Ps 99:1).

14:22 Jeremiah returned to the rain theme that began in 14:3. The astral deities could not bring rain; the only hope for relief from the drought was action from the Lord.