Jeremiah 11:15
What right has My beloved in My house, having carried out so many evil schemes? Can consecrated meat avert your doom, so that you can rejoice?
What is My beloved doing in My house
The phrase "My beloved" is a poignant reminder of the intimate relationship God desires with His people, Israel. The Hebrew word used here is "yadid," which conveys a sense of deep affection and cherished relationship. Historically, Israel is often depicted as God's chosen and beloved nation, akin to a bride. The "house" refers to the temple, the sacred place where God dwells among His people. This rhetorical question underscores the incongruity of Israel's presence in the temple while engaging in idolatry and disobedience. It challenges the reader to reflect on the sincerity of their worship and relationship with God.

as she works out her evil schemes
The phrase "evil schemes" translates from the Hebrew "mezimmah," which implies deliberate and calculated plans of wrongdoing. This highlights the premeditated nature of Israel's sin, not merely accidental or impulsive acts. Historically, this refers to the idolatrous practices and alliances with pagan nations that Israel pursued, contrary to God's commandments. The phrase serves as a warning against the dangers of allowing one's heart to devise plans that are contrary to God's will, emphasizing the need for purity and integrity in one's spiritual walk.

Can consecrated meat avert your punishment?
"Consecrated meat" refers to the sacrificial offerings made in the temple, which were meant to atone for sin and restore fellowship with God. The Hebrew word "qodesh" signifies something set apart for a sacred purpose. However, the rhetorical question implies that ritual sacrifices are ineffective in the absence of genuine repentance and obedience. This echoes the prophetic theme found throughout the Old Testament, where God desires mercy and obedience over mere ritual (1 Samuel 15:22, Hosea 6:6). It serves as a reminder that external religious practices cannot substitute for a heart aligned with God's will.

When you engage in your wickedness, then you rejoice
The word "wickedness" is translated from the Hebrew "ra'ah," which encompasses evil, harm, and moral corruption. The phrase suggests a disturbing delight in sinful behavior, indicating a hardened heart that finds joy in actions contrary to God's commands. Historically, this reflects the period of spiritual decline in Judah, where the people not only sinned but took pleasure in their rebellion. This serves as a sobering reminder of the deceitfulness of sin and the importance of maintaining a heart sensitive to God's conviction, urging believers to find their joy in righteousness and obedience to God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
A prophet called by God to deliver messages of warning and judgment to the people of Judah. He is known for his lamentations over the spiritual state of the nation.

2. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which had turned away from God and engaged in idolatry and other sins, prompting God's judgment.

3. God's House
Refers to the temple in Jerusalem, a place meant for worship and sacrifice, which had become defiled by the people's insincere worship and sinful practices.

4. Consecrated Meat
Part of the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, where meat from sacrifices was considered holy. Here, it symbolizes the people's attempt to use religious rituals to cover their sins.

5. Evil Schemes
The sinful actions and idolatrous practices of the people of Judah, which were contrary to God's covenant with them.
Teaching Points
True Worship vs. Ritualistic Religion
God desires genuine worship from the heart, not mere ritualistic practices. Our religious activities should reflect a sincere relationship with God.

The Danger of Hypocrisy
Engaging in religious rituals while living in sin is hypocritical and unacceptable to God. We must align our actions with our professed beliefs.

Repentance Over Rituals
God calls for repentance and a change of heart rather than relying on religious rituals to cover up sin. True repentance leads to transformation.

God's Love and Justice
Despite referring to Judah as "My beloved," God’s justice demands accountability for sin. His love does not negate His righteousness.

Joy in Wickedness
Rejoicing in wickedness is a sign of a hardened heart. We must examine our lives to ensure we find joy in righteousness, not in sin.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jeremiah 11:15 challenge our understanding of what it means to truly worship God?

2. In what ways might we be tempted to rely on religious rituals instead of genuine repentance and obedience?

3. How can we ensure that our worship is sincere and not just a routine or obligation?

4. What are some modern-day "evil schemes" that might hinder our relationship with God, and how can we address them?

5. How do the themes in Jeremiah 11:15 connect with Jesus' teachings on worship and obedience in the New Testament?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 1:11-17
This passage echoes the theme of God rejecting insincere worship and sacrifices when the people's hearts are far from Him.

1 Samuel 15:22
Highlights the principle that obedience to God is more important than ritual sacrifices.

Matthew 15:8-9
Jesus quotes Isaiah, emphasizing that worship is vain when it is merely lip service without true devotion.
The Staying of IntercessionA.F. Muir
People
Anathoth, Jeremiah
Places
Anathoth, Egypt, Jerusalem, Zion
Topics
Avert, Beloved, Consecrated, Deeds, Devices, Disaster, Doest, Doom, Engage, Evil, Exult, Exultest, Flesh, Hallowed, Holy, Judah, Lewdness, Meat, Oaths, Pass, Passed, Practise, Punishment, Rejoice, Rejoicest, Sacrificial, Safe, Schemes, Seeing, Temple, Trouble, Vile, Vows, Wickedness, Worked, Works, Wrought
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 11:15

     8218   consecration

Library
First, for Thy Thoughts.
1. Be careful to suppress every sin in the first motion; dash Babylon's children, whilst they are young, against the stones; tread, betimes, the cockatrice's egg, lest it break out into a serpent; let sin be to thy heart a stranger, not a home-dweller: take heed of falling oft into the same sin, lest the custom of sinning take away the conscience of sin, and then shalt thou wax so impudently wicked, that thou wilt neither fear God nor reverence man. 2. Suffer not thy mind to feed itself upon any
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

"And we all do Fade as a Leaf, and Our Iniquities, Like the Wind, have Taken us Away. "
Isaiah lxiv. 6.--"And we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Here they join the punishment with the deserving cause, their uncleanness and their iniquities, and so take it upon them, and subscribe to the righteousness of God's dealing. We would say this much in general--First, Nobody needeth to quarrel God for his dealing. He will always be justified when he is judged. If the Lord deal more sharply with you than with others, you may judge there is a difference
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
THE FALL OF NINEVEH AND THE RISE OF THE CHALDAEAN AND MEDIAN EMPIRES--THE XXVIth EGYPTIAN DYNASTY: CYAXARES, ALYATTES, AND NEBUCHADREZZAR. The legendary history of the kings of Media and the first contact of the Medes with the Assyrians: the alleged Iranian migrations of the Avesta--Media-proper, its fauna and flora; Phraortes and the beginning of the Median empire--Persia proper and the Persians; conquest of Persia by the Medes--The last monuments of Assur-bani-pal: the library of Kouyunjik--Phraortes
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

Backsliding.
"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away."--Hosea xiv. 4. There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, "slid forward." They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders--those who have been born of the incorruptible
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It

The Tests of Love to God
LET us test ourselves impartially whether we are in the number of those that love God. For the deciding of this, as our love will be best seen by the fruits of it, I shall lay down fourteen signs, or fruits, of love to God, and it concerns us to search carefully whether any of these fruits grow in our garden. 1. The first fruit of love is the musing of the mind upon God. He who is in love, his thoughts are ever upon the object. He who loves God is ravished and transported with the contemplation of
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Covenanting Confers Obligation.
As it has been shown that all duty, and that alone, ought to be vowed to God in covenant, it is manifest that what is lawfully engaged to in swearing by the name of God is enjoined in the moral law, and, because of the authority of that law, ought to be performed as a duty. But it is now to be proved that what is promised to God by vow or oath, ought to be performed also because of the act of Covenanting. The performance of that exercise is commanded, and the same law which enjoins that the duties
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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