Jeremiah 13:12
Therefore you are to tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Every wineskin shall be filled with wine.' And when they reply, 'Don't we surely know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?'
You are to tell them
This phrase indicates a direct command from God to Jeremiah, emphasizing the role of the prophet as a messenger. The Hebrew root for "tell" is "נָגַד" (nagad), which means to declare or make known. This highlights the responsibility of the prophet to communicate God's message clearly and faithfully, serving as a conduit for divine revelation.

this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says
This phrase establishes the authority of the message. "LORD" is translated from "YHWH," the sacred name of God, signifying His eternal and self-existent nature. "The God of Israel" underscores the covenant relationship between God and His chosen people, Israel. This phrase reassures the audience that the message is not from Jeremiah himself but from the sovereign Creator who has a personal and historical relationship with them.

Every wineskin shall be filled with wine
The imagery of wineskins filled with wine is symbolic. In ancient times, wineskins were made from animal hides and used to store and ferment wine. The Hebrew word for "wineskin" is "נֹאד" (nod), and "wine" is "יַיִן" (yayin). This metaphor suggests abundance and the natural expectation that wineskins are meant to hold wine. However, in the context of Jeremiah's prophecy, it also implies impending judgment, as the filling of wineskins can symbolize the filling up of God's wrath due to the people's disobedience.

And when they say to you
This anticipates the response of the people, indicating that God is aware of their thoughts and skepticism. It reflects the common pattern in prophetic literature where the audience's reaction is foreseen and addressed. This phrase prepares Jeremiah for the incredulity and dismissiveness he will encounter, highlighting the challenge of his prophetic mission.

‘Do we not surely know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’
This rhetorical question reveals the people's complacency and misunderstanding. They acknowledge the obvious truth that wineskins are meant to be filled with wine, yet they fail to grasp the deeper spiritual warning. The phrase underscores their superficial understanding and their tendency to dismiss prophetic warnings as mere common sense, rather than recognizing the urgent call to repentance and the seriousness of their situation.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
A prophet called by God to deliver messages of warning and hope to the people of Judah. His ministry was marked by symbolic actions and prophecies.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who communicates His will and judgment through His prophets.

3. The People of Judah
The primary audience of Jeremiah's prophecies, often characterized by their disobedience and idolatry.

4. Wineskins
Containers used in ancient times to store wine. In this context, they symbolize the people of Judah and the impending judgment.

5. The God of Israel
Emphasizes the covenant relationship between God and His chosen people, Israel.
Teaching Points
Symbolism of Wineskins
The wineskins represent the people of Judah, and the wine symbolizes the judgment and consequences of their actions. Just as wineskins are meant to be filled, the people will experience the fullness of God's judgment due to their disobedience.

Understanding God's Warnings
The people's response, "Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?" indicates a superficial understanding of God's message. It serves as a reminder to seek deeper spiritual insight rather than relying on surface-level interpretations.

The Certainty of God's Judgment
The statement "Every wineskin will be filled with wine" underscores the inevitability of God's judgment. It calls believers to take God's warnings seriously and to live in obedience.

Call to Repentance
The passage serves as a call to repentance, urging the people to turn back to God before the fullness of judgment is realized.

Covenant Relationship
The reference to "the God of Israel" highlights the importance of maintaining a faithful covenant relationship with God, which is central to receiving His blessings rather than His judgment.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the metaphor of wineskins in Jeremiah 13:12 help us understand the nature of God's judgment on Judah?

2. In what ways can we ensure that we are not merely giving a superficial response to God's warnings in our own lives?

3. How does the concept of wineskins being filled relate to the idea of spiritual fullness or emptiness in other parts of Scripture?

4. What steps can we take to maintain a faithful covenant relationship with God, as emphasized in this passage?

5. How can the certainty of God's judgment motivate us to live lives of obedience and repentance today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 5:1-7
This passage uses the metaphor of a vineyard to describe Israel's unfaithfulness, similar to the wineskin metaphor in Jeremiah.

Matthew 9:17
Jesus uses the metaphor of wineskins to illustrate the incompatibility of old and new covenants, which can be related to the need for spiritual renewal in Jeremiah's time.

Hosea 4:11
Discusses how wine and new wine take away understanding, paralleling the spiritual intoxication and lack of discernment in Judah.
The Ruined Girdle; Or, it May be Too Late to MendS. Conway Jeremiah 13:1-12
Divine PunishmentsJ. Parker, D. D.Jeremiah 13:12-14
Drunk with EvilJ. M. Campbell.Jeremiah 13:12-14
The Last Results of SinS. Conway Jeremiah 13:12-14
The Wine of the Wrath of GodW. Whale.Jeremiah 13:12-14
Vessels of WrathS. Conway Jeremiah 13:12-14
Broken Pitchers; Or, Worldly Sufficiency and its PunishmentA.F. Muir Jeremiah 13:12, 15
People
Jeremiah
Places
Euphrates River, Jerusalem, Negeb
Topics
Bottle, Certainly, Clear, Filled, Full, Hast, Indeed, Jar, Jug, Moreover, Quite, Says, Skin, Speak, Thus, Wine, Wineskin
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 13:12-14

     4548   wineskin

Library
An Impossibility Made Possible
'Can the Ethiopian change his skin?'--JER. xiii. 23. 'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.'--2 COR. v. 17. 'Behold, I make all things new.'--REV. xxi. 5. Put these three texts together. The first is a despairing question to which experience gives only too sad and decisive a negative answer. It is the answer of many people who tell us that character must be eternal, and of many a baffled man who says, 'It is of no use--I have tried and can do nothing.' The second text is the grand Christian
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Notion of Inability.
PROPER METHOD OF ACCOUNTING FOR IT. I have represented ability, or the freedom of the will, as a first-truth of consciousness, a truth necessarily known to all moral agents. The inquiry may naturally arise, How then is it to be accounted for, that so many men have denied the liberty of the will, or ability to obey God? A recent writer thinks this denial a sufficient refutation of the affirmation, that ability is a first-truth of consciousness. It is important that this denial should be accounted
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

On Earthly Things
The earth is man himself; in the gospel: another has fallen into the good earth. The same in a bad part about the sinner: you devour the earth all the days of your life. [Mark 4:18; Genesis 3:14] The dry lands are the flesh of a fruitless man; in Ecclesiastes, to work in a dry land with evil and sorrow. [Ecclesiastes 37:3] The dust is a sinner or the vanity of the flesh; in the psalm: like the dust, which the wind blows about. [Ps. 1:4 Vulgate] The mud is the gluttony of sinners; in the psalm: tear
St. Eucherius of Lyons—The Formulae of St. Eucherius of Lyons

The Cavils of the Pharisees Concerning Purification, and the Teaching of the Lord Concerning Purity - the Traditions Concerning Hand-Washing' and Vows. '
As we follow the narrative, confirmatory evidence of what had preceded springs up at almost every step. It is quite in accordance with the abrupt departure of Jesus from Capernaum, and its motives, that when, so far from finding rest and privacy at Bethsaida (east of the Jordan), a greater multitude than ever had there gathered around Him, which would fain have proclaimed Him King, He resolved on immediate return to the western shore, with the view of seeking a quieter retreat, even though it were
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

On the Animals
The birds are the saints, because they fly to the higher heart; in the gospel: and he made great branches that the birds of the air might live in their shade. [Mark 4:32] Flying is the death of the saints in God or the knowledge of the Scriptures; in the psalm: I shall fly and I shall be at rest. [Ps. 54(55):7 Vulgate] The wings are the two testaments; in Ezekiel: your body will fly with two wings of its own. [Ez. 1:23] The feathers are the Scriptures; in the psalm: the wings of the silver dove.
St. Eucherius of Lyons—The Formulae of St. Eucherius of Lyons

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

Meditations on the Hindrances which Keep Back a Sinner from the Practice of Piety.
Those hindrances are chiefly seven:-- I. An ignorant mistaking of the true meaning of certain places of the holy Scriptures, and some other chief grounds of Christian religion. The Scriptures mistaken are these: 1. Ezek. xxxiii. 14, 16, "At what time soever a sinner repenteth him of his sin, I will blot out all," &c. Hence the carnal Christian gathers, that he may repent when he will. It is true, whensoever a sinner does repent, God will forgive; but the text saith not, that a sinner may repent whensoever
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

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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