The Broken Covenant and Jeremiah's Intercession

Jeremiah 11: The Broken Covenant.

Jeremiah 11:1-5: "The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 'Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: "Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you then be My people, and I will be your God, that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them 'a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.'"' And I answered and said, 'So be it, Lord.' Then the Lord said to me, 'Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, "Hear the words of this covenant, and do them; for I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, 'Obey My voice!'" Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his own evil heart. Therefore I will bring on them all the words of this covenant which I commanded them to do, which they have not done.'"

No one is His people until they obey Him. We are not His people until we obey Him. "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). We can say we love Yeshua all we want, but unless we keep the commandments, God doesn't think we love Him. Yeshua, the King of Israel, says this. Moses used "if," Jeremiah used "if," and Yeshua used "if." John 14:15 gives a great understanding: If you love Him, you will keep His commandments. If we don't, we won't. Israel does not. America does not. Otherwise, we wouldn't be doing the things we are doing. We have a remnant of believers in America, but it's not a Christian nation. Killing 70 million children, homosexuality being commonplace—you are not a Christian nation. You are a cursed nation that needs to repent. Same for Israel. Homosexuality parties in Sodom, on the actual site, will bring the Lord's wrath upon you quickly. I hope people repent. I used to live a terrible lifestyle. My lifestyle stank to high heaven. I have hope and mercy for these people, but the leadership—the government, rabbis, and all who should know better—that's the problem. The leadership allowed that to happen. The government promoted it. They want victories but won't get them by supporting homosexuality. Why would God give them victory? It's not about pride in conquering the promised land; it's about repentance so Yeshua can deliver them from the Islamists. Until they repent, the Islamists will be in their backyard. Look around Israel right now; enemies are everywhere.

Jeremiah 11:6-14: "'Then the Lord said to me, "A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them." ... Therefore, thus says the Lord, "Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them, which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal. So do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or a prayer for them, for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble. What has My beloved to do in My house, having done lewd deeds with many? And the holy flesh has passed from you, when you do evil, then you rejoice. The Lord called your name, 'Green olive tree, lovely and of good fruit'; with the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, and its branches are broken. For the Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and also for the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger by offering incense to Baal."'

Jeremiah 11:18-23: "'Now the Lord gave me knowledge of it, and I know it; then You showed me their doings. But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more." But, O Lord of hosts, You who judge righteously, testing the mind and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have revealed my cause. Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, "Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, lest you die by our hand!" Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: "Behold, I will punish them, the false prophets. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by the famine, and there shall be no remnant of them—the false prophets. For I will bring a catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment."'

Summary of Jeremiah 11: Judah violated Yah's covenant. God tells Jeremiah to proclaim and recall the words of the covenant. The issue is covenant betrayal. Judah is not merely making mistakes; she has broken the agreement with God. Jeremiah also discovers a conspiracy against his life from his hometown, Anathoth. Those are the key scriptures. Jeremiah's hometown rejects him and his family. The prophet becomes a prophetic picture of righteous suffering by Yeshua.

Jeremiah 12: A Righteous Man Wrestles with Injustice.

Jeremiah 12:1-4: "'Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them; yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth, but far from their mind. But You, O Lord, know me; You have seen me and tested my heart toward You. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. How long will the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither? The beasts and birds are consumed for the wickedness of those who dwell there, because they said, "He will not see our final end."'"

Jeremiah 12:5-6: "Then the Lord answered Jeremiah, 'If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with the horses? And if in the land of peace in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan? For even your brothers—the house of your father—even they have dealt treacherously with you; yes, they have called a multitude after you. Do not believe them, even though they speak smooth words to you.'"

Jeremiah 12:7-11: "'I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest; it cries out against Me; therefore I have hated it. My heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture; the vultures all around are against her. Come, assemble all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour! Many rulers have destroyed My vineyard; they have trodden My portion underfoot. They have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. It mourns to Me; the whole land is made desolate, because no one takes it to heart. The plunderers have come to all the desolate heights in the wilderness, for the sword of the Lord shall devour from one end of the land to the other; no flesh shall have peace. They have sown wheat but reaped thorns; they have put themselves to pain but not to profit; but be ashamed of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the Lord.'"

Jeremiah 12:14-17: "'Thus says the Lord against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit, "Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out of the house of Judah from among them. Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them, and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. And it shall be, if they diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, 'As the Lord lives,' as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people. But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation," says the Lord.'"

This is about Israel and its neighbors. God will judge all of them. The entire Middle East is about to go through the same thing Jeremiah warned the ancestors and the nations around them. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed them all in Jeremiah 25.

Summary of Jeremiah 12: Why do the wicked prosper? Jeremiah asks why the way of the wicked prospers. Jeremiah wrestles with injustice. God answers by preparing him for greater difficulty: "If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with the horses?" This is for all of us to understand: if we get flustered by light things, how can we handle the hard things coming? We must prepare our hearts, like Jeremiah did. We can see danger coming, the time of Jacob's trouble, the seven-year tribulation. Every Christian believes that; Jewish people too. Why aren't we circumcising our hearts to the Lord since we see calamity coming to Israel and all nations? It's all coming. You see it in Europe, America, Latin America, everywhere, especially the Middle East. God does not always give Jeremiah or us an easy answer. He strengthens him or us for a harder road, a narrower road.

Jeremiah 14: Drought and Intercession.

Jeremiah 14:1-6: "The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts. Judah mourns, and her gates languish; they mourn for the land, and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up. Their nobles have sent their lads for water; they went to their cisterns and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded and covered their heads, because the ground is parched, for there was no rain in the land. The plowmen were ashamed; they covered their heads. Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field, but they left because there was no grass. And the wild donkey stood in the desolate heights; they sniffed at the wind like jackals; their eyes failed because there was no grass. O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do it for Your name's sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against You. O hope of Israel, Your savior in time of trouble! Why should You be like a stranger in the land, and like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night? Why should You be like a man astonished, like a mighty one who cannot save? Yet You, O Lord, are in our midst, and we are called by Your name. Do not leave us! Thus says the Lord to this people: 'Thus they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; He will remember their iniquity now and punish their sins.'"

Jeremiah 14:11-12: "Then the Lord said to me, 'Do not pray for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Because I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.'"

Jeremiah 14:13-16: "Then I said, 'Oh, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say to them, "You shall not see the sword, nor shall you see the famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place." ' And the Lord said to me, 'The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them. They prophesy to you false vision, divination, worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.' Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the false prophets: 'Who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, "Sword and famine shall not be in this land"—by sword and famine those false prophets shall be consumed! And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—neither their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters—for I will pour out their wickedness on them.' Thus you shall say this word to them: 'Let My eyes flow with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.'"

Jeremiah 14:17-22: "'If I go out into the field, then behold, those slain with the sword; and if I enter the city, then behold, those sick from famine. Yes, both prophet and priest go about in the land and they do not know.' 'Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We look for peace, but there is no good—and for the time of healing, but there is trouble! We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You. Do not abhor us, for Your name's sake; do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember, do not break Your covenant with us. Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O Lord our God? Therefore, we will wait for You, since You have made all these.'"

A physical drought reveals spiritual drought. Major points: Judah experiences drought. Jeremiah intercedes, but God says judgment is fixed because the people refused to repent. False prophets promised peace, but there was no peace. When the heavens are shut, it reveals that the covenant relationship is broken. This is why when the two witnesses come down, they hold up rain for three and a half years. We will find out in Israel and the whole world, in the Middle East, that this is very serious. These are words from God. He touched Jeremiah's mouth; these are God's words. They are not always pleasant, but this is the Almighty's attribute when a people rejects Him. Loving-kindness, mercy, grace, forgiveness, longsuffering. But when that ends, and all the prophets do their thing, it's judgment time. It's the gavel, pestilence, sword, and famine. We've already had pestilence with COVID. Now comes famine and the sword is already out there. Look at the Middle East. The sword is out. Famine is coming next. This is not pleasant stuff, but this is what God has said to a rebellious people, whoever that may be. In the promised land, the people must obey Moses or what God told Moses. If not, it will happen again.

Jeremiah 15: Judgment and Deliverance.

Jeremiah 15:1-3: "Then the Lord said to me, 'Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. And it shall be, if they say to you, "Where should we go?" then you shall tell them, "Thus says the Lord: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity."' And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction,' says the Lord: 'The sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem—which was a bunch of idolatry, spiritual adultery, and just absolutely evil.'"

Jeremiah 15:5-9: "'For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who will bemoan you? Or who will turn aside to ask how you were doing? You have forsaken Me,' says the Lord; 'you have gone backward. Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you to destroy you; I am weary of relenting! And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children; I will destroy My people, since they do not return from their evil ways.'"

John the Baptist said the Messiah would come with a winnowing fork and cleanse His threshold. His threshold is Zion, Moriah, Jerusalem. You are seeing Yeshua in Jeremiah. When He says, "I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the threshold of the land," that is Yeshua. Read Matthew 3 and 4, and Revelation. It will be ugly. Israelis, please wake up. We love you, but Yeshua and Yahweh love you more. They want everyone to understand what's going down. People don't know what's going down. Israelis don't. Christians don't. We are all blinded. We don't understand the biblical prophets or proper theology or eschatology. We think we're going to conquer everything. You will conquer nothing until we repent. When we repent, the God of Israel will decree in Daniel 7, and the saints will possess the kingdom when Yeshua restores it.

Jeremiah 15:10-14: "'Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent for interest, nor have men lent to me for interest; every one of them curses me. The Lord said, "Surely it will be well with your remnant; surely it will cause the enemy to intercede with you in the time of adversity, in the time of affliction. Can anyone break iron, the northern iron and bronze? Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder without price, because of all your sins throughout your territories. And I will make you cross over with your enemies into a land which you do not know; for a fire is kindled in My anger, which shall burn upon you." O Lord, You know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors; and do not take me away, knowing that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke. Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. I did not sit in the assembly of mockers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, for You have filled me with indignation.'"

Jeremiah 15:15-21: "'Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, like waters that fail? Therefore, thus says the Lord: "If you return, then I will bring you back; you shall stand before Me. If you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, but you must not return to them. I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; and they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you," says the Lord. "I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible."'

Summary of Jeremiah 15: Jeremiah suffers under the weight of his calling. God says even Moses and Samuel could not turn away the judgment of that generation. Jeremiah feels isolated, rejected, and wounded. God reassures him: "If you return... you shall be as My mouth." He will be a fortified bronze wall. Those who love God's word will believe Moses forever. Yeshua says the same thing in John 5. If you don't believe Moses, you won't believe someone risen from the dead. Christians, if you don't believe Moses, you don't believe Yeshua either. We must believe Moses and follow the commandments. Israel does not. America does not. Otherwise, we wouldn't be doing these things. We have a remnant of believers, but not a Christian nation.