Jeremiah

Jeremiah 11: The LORD keeps His covenant

Begin in prayer

Before we hear the words of God’s covenant, let us stop and come to the LORD together. Ask Him to open our eyes, to bring our family near to Him, and to show us Christ, who kept every promise.

Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law.

Psalms 119:18

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You keep Your covenant and judge those who break it, and help us to turn from our sin and trust Jesus. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The LORD tells Jeremiah to speak His covenant to Judah and Jerusalem, the covenant made when Israel left Egypt (verses 1 to 5). God had promised, “so you shall be my people, and I will be your God,” but the fathers did not listen (verses 4 to 8). A conspiracy is found among the people of Judah and Jerusalem, who follow other gods and break the covenant (verses 9 and 10). The LORD will bring a disaster they cannot escape, and when they cry out, He will not listen (verse 11). The gods they serve cannot save them (verse 12). He compares the people to a green olive tree whose branches are broken by fire (verses 16 and 17). Men of Anathoth plan to kill Jeremiah, but the LORD, who tests the heart and mind, promises to punish them (verses 18 to 23).

As you read Jeremiah 11, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD keeps His covenant and judges those who break it.

The LORD bound Israel to Himself by a covenant, promising to be their God and to have them as His people (verse 4). The iron furnace pictures the hard slavery in Egypt from which the LORD rescued His people (verse 4). Judah went back to the sins of their forefathers, and the people set up altars to burn incense to Baal (verses 10 and 13). The people cried to their gods in trouble, but those gods could not save them (verse 12). The olive tree pictured Israel, once green and fruitful, and its branches were broken by fire (verses 16 and 17). Men of Anathoth, Jeremiah’s own hometown in Benjamin, plotted to kill him to stop his preaching (verses 19 and 21). The LORD tests the heart and the mind, so His judgment on evil is righteous (verses 20 and 21).

How does Jeremiah 11 show us that the LORD keeps His covenant, and judges those who break it?

The LORD keeps the promise He makes.

He brought the fathers out of Egypt and promised to be their God (verses 4 and 5). The people did not obey, and the covenant curse fell on them (verses 3 and 8). The LORD had sworn this oath to their fathers, and He had not forgotten it (verse 5).

Idols cannot save a people in trouble.

Judah and Jerusalem burned incense to gods they had multiplied, so the LORD would not answer their cries (verses 12 and 13). The gods they trusted could not save them in the time of trouble. The LORD even told Jeremiah not to pray for them, because He would not hear when they cried (verse 14).

The LORD judges those who plot evil.

Men of Anathoth plotted to kill Jeremiah so that he could not prophesy in the LORD’s name (verses 19 and 21). The LORD knows every plot, and He judges righteously (verse 20). Jeremiah was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter, and he did not know about their plot (verse 19).

Memorize

So you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Jeremiah 11:4

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, have I broken my promises to God, and do I need Jesus to forgive me?

The LORD said, “Obey my voice, and do them.” He had promised, “so you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” But Judah did not listen, and its people served other gods. The covenant was broken again and again, and its curse fell on those who would not obey.

Jesus is the One who kept the covenant perfectly. He stood under the curse that His people earned, and He bore it for them at the cross. His death fully paid for their sin, and God raised Him on the third day. His work is enough for every person who trusts Him.

Turn from the gods you have trusted, and come back to the LORD through Jesus. Repent of breaking your promises to Him, and trust the Savior who kept every promise for His people. Those who come to Him are not turned away, and the LORD keeps His word to them.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD keeps His promises, and that He judges those who break His covenant. Parents, you may want to explain the men of Anathoth and their plot in your own words. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He keeps His covenant, and bring the heart question to Him. Invite each child to pray a short prayer, because every child can speak to the Lord.

But Yahweh’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children’s children;

Psalms 103:17

Faithful Lord, thank You that You keep Your covenant and judge righteously. Forgive our broken promises and our idols. Bring each of us to turn to You through Jesus, who kept every promise for His people. Help us to keep our word to You this week. Amen.