Jeremiah 19 Commentary: We’re in the second lesson in a section that consists of Jeremiah 18, 19, and 20.
Jeremiah 18 was about a potter. That chapter described how God was like a potter and that Israel was like the clay in his hands. He could destroy the clay or build it up as he wished. And he would do that to Israel.
Well, Israel didn’t want to hear that message. And they disliked that concept of God’s sovereign dealings with them so much so that they made plans to kill Jeremiah. So, we ended Jeremiah 18 with the prophet letting the people go to God’s judgement. It was almost as if Jeremiah washed his hands of the people for whom he prayed so much previously.
Jeremiah 19 Commentary: The Pot
Well, that brings us to Jeremiah 19. We’ve seen the action centered around a Potter in the previous chapter. Now in this chapter we’ll see the action centered around a Pot.
In the last chapter, the clay was moldable. In this chapter, it’s going to be irreversibly broken.
So, the chapter begins with the Lord responding to Jeremiah’s abandoning of his people to their fate.
KJV Jeremiah 19:1 ¶ Thus saith the LORD,
Jeremiah 19 Commentary: What to Bring
God starts by telling Jeremiah to get or bring several things in the rest of Jeremiah 19:1.
Go and [get/buy] a potter’s [earthen bottle/earthenware jar/clay jar],
and take of the [ancients/elders/leaders] of the people,
and of the [ancients/senior/leaders] of the priests;
So, Jeremiah was to get a jar and bring some of the leading people and leading priests.
Jeremiah 19 Commentary: Where to Go
Well, where is he taking them? That’s spelled out in Jeremiah 19:2.
2 And go forth unto the [i.e., part of the] valley of [the son of Hinnom/Ben-hinnom],
which is by the entry of the [east/Postherd] gate,
and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,
So, Jeremiah is to go to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom by the Potsherd Gate. This is the place that’s behind the concept of “Gehenna” in the New Testament. It’s the city’s trash dump, located on the southern slope of Jerusalem. Trash would be burned there, which would burn pretty regularly, apparently. This is why the Lord Jesus uses this place as a picture of eternal fire in hell.
The Potsherd Gate was probably a place where the people of Jerusalem would discard old pottery. There was no doubt quite a large amount of shards or fragments of pots in that location, since pottery doesn’t decompose.
But, this is where the prophet is commanded to take some of the leaders of the lay people as well as the priests.
Jeremiah 19 Commentary: What to Say
Well, now, what is Jeremiah to say to them there? Three things in Jeremiah 19:3-9.
Jeremiah 19 Commentary: Disaster Promised
First, in Jeremiah 19:3, God is promising disaster for Judah.
Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Thus saith the LORD [of hosts/who rules over all], the God of Israel;
Behold, I will bring [evil/calamity/disaster] upon this place, [the/at] which whosoever heareth, his ears shall [tingle/ring].
This tingling- or ringing- or reverberating- or quivering-ear situation has been promised a few other times in Israel’s history. So, let’s consider a few passages where this phrase is found to get a better idea of what it means.
Jeremiah 19 Commentary: 1 Samuel 3:11-14
God had a message for the boy Samuel which would give this affect to all Israel. Let me read 1 Samuel 3:11-14.
