Jeremiah 11 11 Bible Verse Meaning – Uplifting Scripture
In this post, we will be looking at Jeremiah 11:11 Bible verses, what does Jeremiah 11 11 mean, and what message can we derive from this Bible verse that will apply to our spiritual life. Jeremiah chapter 11 talks about the broken covenant.
What Is A Broken Covenant?
The oxford dictionary defines a covenant as an agreement or a contract or a pact or a treaty. All of these words simply means a promise, not just a promise but rather a promise that goes both ways.
A broken covenant is an agreement between man and God, and as long as we are obedient to the covenant, then it will be well with us. But if we are not obedient to God’s covenant, then that could trigger God’s judgement upon us. I pray that God gives us a heart to observe the covenant, Amen!
Bible Verses Jeremiah 11 11 Translations
Jeremiah 11:11 KJV
Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
Jeremiah 11:11 NIV
Therefore this is what the Lord says: “I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.”
Jeremiah 11:11 NLT
Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “I am going to bring calamity upon them, and they will not escape. Though they beg for mercy, I will not listen to their cries.”
Jeremiah 11:11 ESV
Therefore, thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them.”
Jeremiah 11:11 NKJV
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.”
Before we dive into the meaning of Jeremiah 11 11, we first need to understand from beginning of Jeremiah 11, what led to God making this statement against the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
Jeremiah 11:4-5 KJV
And say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them fa land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord.
When we look at this above verses, God is simply asking us to obey His commandment and when we do He will bless us. As Children of God, we must listen to the voice of God, but when we fail to listen to God’s instructions, then we can’t carry out His covenant, or His laws.
All Israel needed to do was to fulfill their side of the covenant for God to fulfill His side of the promise. Even though we don’t live under the old covenant, we are under a new covenant where God has promised us forgiveness for free, but only if we choose to accept Him as our Lord and personal savior.
When we look back at the history of the Israelites, Israel was one of the strongest nations in the world. They conquered many nations before them, but then they lost everything to Babylon and became their captives due to their disobedience. We need to learn from the mistakes of Israel because they forsook their side of the covenant and were punished for it.
Jeremiah 11 11 Meaning
Here we see that God first warned the people of Judah and Jerusalem through Jeremiah for not obeying the rules of the covenant which He gave to their forefathers, when He brought them out of Egypt. As a result, this triggered the judgement of God upon them as follows:
I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape
The dictionary word for ‘disaster’ is a sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life. The house of Judah and Jerusalem returned to the sins of their forefathers who refused to obey or listen to God’s instructions, by following other gods to serve them.
They sacrificed their Children to these gods, they engaged themselves in gossiping, burning incents to baal, idolatry practice, fornication and other detestable acts. Hence God brought upon them disaster from the north through Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who destroyed the first temple and took the Israelites into captivity in Babylon for 70 years.
Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them
Jeremiah who is also described as a crying prophet, pleaded for Gods mercy for the house of Judah and Israel, but God already triggered His judgement upon these houses and there was nothing any prophet or Jeremiah could do to stop it.
God gave them ample of time and waited patiently for them to repent but they repented not. The Bible described them as stiff necked people in Exodus 32. As a result, many died through famine, some by the sword and the rest in captivity.
Despite their cries and wailing, God did not listen to them because they turned their back on God and they paid a heavy price for it.
God’s Covenant With Israel
God’s covenant with Israel at mount Sanai is recorded in Exodus 20 (KJV) as it’s as follows:
- Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
- Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them
- Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy
- Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
- Honour thy father and thy mother
- Thou shalt not kill
- Thou shalt not commit adultery
- Thou shalt not steal
- Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s
Conclusion
All that had been said is summarized in Exodus 19:5-6 (NIV) which says; “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.“
When you break your covenant with God and turn to idols as your gods, then judgement will be triggered and no one can stop it till it’s completed.
We hope that you have been blessed and learnt something from this topic on the meaning of Jeremiah 11 11. Don’t forget to also checkout our blog section for more frequently asked bible questions and quizzes.
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