Jeremiah 15:6 Study Bible: 'You have rejected me,' says the LORD, 'you have gone backward:' therefore have I stretched out my hand against you, and destroyed you; I am weary with repenting.

◄ Jeremiah 15:6 ►

You have forsaken Me, declares the LORD. You have turned your back. So I will stretch out My hand against you and I will destroy you; I am weary of showing compassion.

Study Bible

You have forsaken Me, declares the LORD.
This phrase highlights the central issue of Israel's unfaithfulness to God. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is depicted as God's chosen people, yet they repeatedly turn away from Him to follow other gods and practices. This forsaking is not just a physical turning away but a spiritual and covenantal breach. The declaration by the LORD emphasizes the seriousness of their actions, as it is God Himself who is speaking. This echoes the covenantal language found in Deuteronomy 28, where blessings and curses are outlined based on Israel's obedience or disobedience.

You have turned your back.
Turning one's back is a vivid metaphor for rejection and betrayal. In the ancient Near Eastern context, turning one's back on a king or deity was a sign of disrespect and rebellion. This phrase indicates a deliberate choice by the people to reject God's ways and pursue their own desires. It is reminiscent of the actions of the Israelites in the wilderness, as described in Exodus 32, when they created and worshiped the golden calf, turning away from the God who delivered them from Egypt.

So I will stretch out My hand against you and I will destroy you;
The stretching out of God's hand is a common biblical motif for divine intervention, often in judgment. This phrase indicates a direct and active response from God to the people's unfaithfulness. The imagery of God's hand suggests power and authority, as seen in Exodus 7:5, where God stretches out His hand against Egypt. The promise of destruction is a fulfillment of the covenant curses outlined in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, where God warns of the consequences of disobedience.

I am weary of showing compassion.
This phrase reveals the depth of God's patience and the extent to which it has been tested by Israel's persistent rebellion. The weariness of God is not a sign of weakness but an expression of His righteous judgment. It underscores the tension between God's justice and mercy, a theme prevalent throughout the prophetic books. This weariness is echoed in Isaiah 1:14, where God expresses His exhaustion with the people's empty rituals. It also foreshadows the ultimate expression of God's compassion through Jesus Christ, who embodies both justice and mercy, offering redemption to all who turn back to God.

Persons / Places / Events

1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah. He expresses His weariness with the persistent rebellion of His people.

2. Jeremiah
The prophet through whom God delivers His message. Jeremiah is often called the "weeping prophet" due to his deep sorrow over the sins of his people and the coming judgment.

3. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which is the primary audience of Jeremiah's prophecies. They are being warned of impending judgment due to their unfaithfulness.

4. Babylonian Exile
The event that is foreshadowed by this prophecy, where Judah will be conquered and taken into exile as a consequence of their disobedience.

5. Repentance
Although not a person or place, the concept of repentance is central to this passage, as it highlights the people's failure to turn back to God.

Teaching Points

God's Patience Has Limits
While God is patient and longsuffering, persistent rebellion and unrepentance can lead to His judgment. We must not take His patience for granted.

The Call to Repentance
This passage serves as a reminder of the importance of turning back to God. Repentance is not just a one-time act but a continual posture of the heart.

Consequences of Forsaking God
Turning away from God leads to spiritual and often physical consequences. We are called to remain faithful and obedient to His Word.

God's Reluctance to Punish
The phrase "I am weary of relenting" shows that God does not delight in punishment. His desire is for His people to return to Him.

The Role of Prophets
Prophets like Jeremiah are sent to warn and guide God's people back to Him. We should heed the warnings and teachings found in Scripture.

Bible Study Questions

1. What does it mean to "forsake" the LORD, and how can we ensure we are not doing this in our own lives?

2. How does the concept of God's patience and eventual judgment challenge or encourage you in your walk with Him?

3. In what ways can we practice repentance daily, and why is it important to maintain a repentant heart?

4. How do the consequences faced by Judah serve as a warning for us today in our personal and communal faith journeys?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's patience. How did it impact your relationship with Him, and what steps did you take to return to Him?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Deuteronomy 28
This chapter outlines the blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, providing a backdrop for understanding the consequences faced by Judah.

Isaiah 1
Similar themes of rebellion and the call to repentance are found here, emphasizing God's desire for His people to return to Him.

2 Chronicles 36
Chronicles the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile, fulfilling the warnings given by prophets like Jeremiah.

Hosea 11
Illustrates God's enduring love and patience, contrasting with His eventual decision to allow consequences for persistent rebellion.

Sermons

Divine Judgments and Man's Relation to Them	W. Brooke.	Jeremiah 15:6
Jehovah Weary with Repenting	W. Whale.	Jeremiah 15:6
The Almighty Weary with Repenting	D. Moore, M. A.	Jeremiah 15:6
Fearful Aspects of the Divine Character	S. Conway	Jeremiah 15:1-9
God Forsaking and God Forsaken	W. Whale.	Jeremiah 15:6-9
How Men Forsake God	D. L. Moody.	Jeremiah 15:6-9

People

Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Manasseh, Samuel

Places

Jerusalem, Zion

Topics

Affirmation, Backsliding, Backward, Cast, Changing, Compassion, Declares, Destroy, Destroyed, Destruction, Forsaken, Goest, Hands, Hast, Lay, Longer, Purpose, Rejected, Relenting, Repenting, Says, Stretch, Stretched, Tired, Weary

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Jeremiah 15:6

     1265   hand of God
     6231   rejection of God
     6232   rejection of God, results
     7372   hands, laying on
     8741   failure
     8840   unfaithfulness, to God

Jeremiah 15:5-9

5890 insecurity

Library

The Northern Iron and the Steel
That being the literal meaning, we shall draw from our text a general principle. It is a proverbial expression, no doubt, and applicable to many other matters besides that of the prophet and the Jews; it is clearly meant to show, that in order to achieve a purpose, there must be a sufficient force. The weaker cannot overcome the stronger. In a general clash the firmest will win. There must be sufficient firmness in the instrument or the work cannot be done. You cannot cut granite with a pen-knife, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Hidden Manna
He was eminently the man that had seen affliction, and yet in the midst of a wilderness of woe he discovered fountains of joy. Like that Blessed One, who was "the man of sorrows" and the acquaintance of grief, he sometimes rejoiced in spirit and blessed the name of the Lord. It will be both interesting and profitable to note the root of the joy which grew up in Jeremiah's heart, like a lone palm tree in the desert. Here was its substance. It was an intense delight to him to have been chosen to the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Ten Reasons Demonstrating the Commandment of the Sabbath to be Moral.
1. Because all the reasons of this commandment are moral and perpetual; and God has bound us to the obedience of this commandment with more forcible reasons than to any of the rest--First, because he foresaw that irreligious men would either more carelessly neglect, or more boldly break this commandment than any other; secondly, because that in the practice of this commandment the keeping of all the other consists; which makes God so often complain that all his worship is neglected or overthrown, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Sins of Communities Noted and Punished.
"Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." This is predicated of the judgments of God on those who had shed the blood of his saints. The Savior declares that all the righteous blood which had been shed on the earth from that of Abel down to the gospel day, should come on that generation! But is not this unreasonable and contrary to the Scriptures? "Far be wickedness from God and iniquity from the Almighty. For the work of man shall be render unto him, and cause every …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

General Notes by the American Editor
1. The whole subject of the Apocalypse is so treated, [2318] in the Speaker's Commentary, as to elucidate many questions suggested by the primitive commentators of this series, and to furnish the latest judgments of critics on the subject. It is so immense a matter, however, as to render annotations on patristic specialties impossible in a work like this. Every reader must feel how apposite is the sententious saying of Augustine: "Apocalypsis Joannis tot sacramenta quot verba." 2. The seven spirits, …
Victorinus—Commentary on the Apocolypse of the Blessed John

How those who Fear Scourges and those who Contemn them are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 14.) Differently to be admonished are those who fear scourges, and on that account live innocently, and those who have grown so hard in wickedness as not to be corrected even by scourges. For those who fear scourges are to be told by no means to desire temporal goods as being of great account, seeing that bad men also have them, and by no means to shun present evils as intolerable, seeing they are not ignorant how for the most part good men also are touched by them. They are to be admonished …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

What the Scriptures Principally Teach: the Ruin and Recovery of Man. Faith and Love Towards Christ.
2 Tim. i. 13.--"Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." Here is the sum of religion. Here you have a compend of the doctrine of the Scriptures. All divine truths may be reduced to these two heads,--faith and love; what we ought to believe, and what we ought to do. This is all the Scriptures teach, and this is all we have to learn. What have we to know, but what God hath revealed of himself to us? And what have we to do, but what …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Word
The third way to escape the wrath and curse of God, and obtain the benefit of redemption by Christ, is the diligent use of ordinances, in particular, the word, sacraments, and prayer.' I begin with the best of these ordinances. The word . . . which effectually worketh in you that believe.' 1 Thess 2:13. What is meant by the word's working effectually? The word of God is said to work effectually when it has the good effect upon us for which it was appointed by God; when it works powerful illumination …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

An Analysis of Augustin's Writings against the Donatists.
The object of this chapter is to present a rudimentary outline and summary of all that Augustin penned or spoke against those traditional North African Christians whom he was pleased to regard as schismatics. It will be arranged, so far as may be, in chronological order, following the dates suggested by the Benedictine edition. The necessary brevity precludes anything but a very meagre treatment of so considerable a theme. The writer takes no responsibility for the ecclesiological tenets of the …
St. Augustine—writings in connection with the donatist controversy.

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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