#plot against jeremiah

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Jeremiah and the Potter’s House

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”

13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“Inquire among the nations:    Who has ever heard anything like this? A most horrible thing has been done    by Virgin Israel. 14 Does the snow of Lebanon    ever vanish from its rocky slopes? Do its cool waters from distant sources    ever stop flowing? 15 Yet my people have forgotten me;    they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways,    in the ancient paths. They made them walk in byways,    on roads not built up. 16 Their land will be an object of horror    and of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled    and will shake their heads. 17 Like a wind from the east,    I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face    in the day of their disaster.”

18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.”

19 Listen to me, Lord;    hear what my accusers are saying! 20 Should good be repaid with evil?    Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you    and spoke in their behalf    to turn your wrath away from them. 21 So give their children over to famine;    hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows;    let their men be put to death,    their young men slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses    when you suddenly bring invaders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me    and have hidden snares for my feet. 23 But you, Lord, know    all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes    or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you;    deal with them in the time of your anger. — Jeremiah 18 | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®  All rights reserved worldwide. Cross References: Genesis 6:6; Deuteronomy 29:19; Leviticus 26:32; 1 Kings 9:8; 1 Samuel 2:30; 1 Samuel 13:13; 1 Samuel 15:33; 1 Samuel 19:4; Nehemiah 4:5; Job 5:13; Job 27:21; Psalm 106:45; Psalm 119:85; Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9; Isaiah 57:14; Isaiah 62:10; Isaiah 64:8; Isaiah 66:8; Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 19:1-2; Jeremiah 31:28; Lamentations 3:59; Matthew 20:15; Acts 26:20; Romans 9:20-21

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Parable of the Potter

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down at once to the potter’s house; there I will reveal My words to you.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, working away at the wheel. 4 But the jar that he was making from the clay became flawed in the potter’s hand, so he made it into another jar, as it seemed right for him to do.

5 The word of the Lord came to me: 6 “House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel. 7 At one moment I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, tear down, and destroy it. 8 However, if that nation I have made an announcement about turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the disaster I had planned to do to it. 9 At another time I announce that I will build and plant a nation or a kingdom. 10 However, if it does what is evil in My sight by not listening to My voice, I will relent concerning the good I had said I would do to it. 11 So now, say to the men of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring harm to you and make plans against you. Turn now, each from your evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds. 12 But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless. We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”

Deluded Israel

13 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:

Ask among the nations, Who has heard things like these? Virgin Israel has done a most terrible thing. 14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave the highland crags? Or does cold water flowing from a distance ever fail? 15 Yet My people have forgotten Me. They burn incense to false idols that make them stumble in their ways on the ancient roads and walk on new paths, not the highway. 16 They have made their land a horror, a perpetual object of scorn; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and shake his head. 17 I will scatter them before the enemy like the east wind. I will show them My back and not My face on the day of their calamity.

Plot against Jeremiah

18 Then certain ones said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will never be lost from the priest, or counsel from the wise, or an oracle from the prophet. Come, let’s denounce him and pay no attention to all his words.”

19 Pay attention to me, Lord. Hear what my opponents are saying! 20 Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your anger from them. 21 Therefore, hand their children over to famine, and pour the sword’s power on them. Let their wives become childless and widowed, their husbands slain by deadly disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses when You suddenly bring raiders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet. 23 But You, Lord, know all their deadly plots against me. Do not wipe out their guilt; do not blot out their sin before You. Let them be forced to stumble before You; deal with them in the time of Your anger. — Jeremiah 18 | Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 6:6; Leviticus 26:32; Deuteronomy 29:19; 1 Samuel 2:30; 1 Samuel 13:13; 1 Samuel 15:33; 1 Samuel 19:4; 1 Kings 9:8; 2 Kings 17:13; Nehemiah 4:5; Job 5:13; Job 27:21; Psalm 35:7; Psalm 48:7; Psalm 52:2; Psalm 59:5; Psalm 63:10; Psalm 106:45; Psalm 119:85; Psalm 140:5; Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 57:10; Isaiah 57:14; Isaiah 62:10; Isaiah 66:8; Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 2:10-11; Jeremiah 7:3; Jeremiah 19:1; Jeremiah 31:28; Lamentations 3:59; Amos 9:11; Matthew 20:15; Acts 26:20; Romans 9:20-21

Jeremiah 18 Chapter Summary

Key Passages in Jeremiah 18

1. Under the type of a potter is shown God's absolute power in disposing of nations. 11. Judgments threatened to Judah for her strange revolt. 18. Jeremiah prays against his conspirators.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Jeremiah and the Potter’s House

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

2 Up! go down to the potter's house, and there I will let my words come to your ears.

3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and he was doing his work on the stones.

4 And when the vessel, which he was forming out of earth, got damaged in the hand of the potter, he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make it.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

6 O Israel, am I not able to do with you as this potter does? says the Lord. See, like earth in the potter's hand are you in my hands, O Israel.

7 Whenever I say anything about uprooting a nation or a kingdom, and smashing it and sending destruction on it;

8 If, in that very minute, that nation of which I was talking is turned away from its evil, my purpose of doing evil to them will be changed.

9 And whenever I say anything about building up a nation or a kingdom, and planting it;

10 If, in that very minute, it does evil in my eyes, going against my orders, then my good purpose, which I said I would do for them, will be changed.

11 Now, then, say to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am forming an evil thing against you, and designing a design against you: let every man come back now from his evil way, and let your ways and your doings be changed for the better.

12 But they will say, There is no hope: we will go on in our designs, and every one of us will do what he is moved by the pride of his evil heart to do.

13 So this is what the Lord has said: Make search among the nations and see who has had word of such things; the virgin of Israel has done a very shocking thing.

14 Will the white snow go away from the top of Sirion? will the cold waters flowing from the mountains become dry?

15 For my people have put me out of their memory, burning perfumes to that which is nothing; and because of this, I will put a cause of falling in their ways, even in the old roads, and will make them go on side-roads, in a way not lifted up;

16 Making their land a thing of wonder, causing sounds of surprise for ever; everyone who goes by will be overcome with wonder, shaking his head.

17 I will send them in flight, as from an east wind, before the attacker; I will let them see my back and not my face on the day of their downfall.

18 Then they said, Come, let us make a design against Jeremiah; for teaching will never be cut off from the priest, or wisdom from the wise, or the word from the prophet. Come, let us make use of his words for an attack on him, and let us give attention with care to what he says.

19 Give thought to me, O Lord, and give ear to the voice of those who put forward a cause against me.

20 Is evil to be the reward of good? for they have made a deep hole for my soul. Keep in mind how I took my place before you, to say a good word for them so that your wrath might be turned away from them.

21 For this cause, let their children be without food, and give them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives be without children and become widows; let their men be overtaken by death, and their young men be put to the sword in the fight.

22 Let a cry for help go up from their houses, when you send an armed band on them suddenly: for they have made a hole in which to take me, and have put nets for my feet secretly.

23 But you, Lord, have knowledge of all the designs which they have made against my life; let not their evil-doing be covered or their sin be washed away from before your eyes: but let it be a cause of falling before you: so do to them in the time of your wrath. — Jeremiah 18 | Bible in Basic English (BBE) The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain. Cross References: Genesis 6:6; Leviticus 26:32; Deuteronomy 29:19; 1 Samuel 2:30; 1 Samuel 13:13; 1 Samuel 15:33; 1 Samuel 19:4; 1 Kings 9:8; 2 Kings 17:13; Nehemiah 4:5; Job 5:13; Job 27:21; Psalm 35:7; Psalm 48:7; Psalm 52:2; Psalm 59:5; Psalm 63:10; Psalm 106:45; Psalm 119:85; Psalm 140:5; Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 57:10; Isaiah 57:14; Isaiah 62:10; Isaiah 66:8; Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 2:10-11; Jeremiah 7:3; Jeremiah 19:1-2; Jeremiah 31:28; Lamentations 3:59; Amos 9:11; Matthew 20:15; Acts 26:20; Romans 9:20-21

[dailybiblelessons]

Monday: Reflection on the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Roman Catholic Proper 23 Revised Common Lectionary Proper 18

Complementary Hebrew Scripture from the Former Prophets: 2 Kings 17:24-41

The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria in place of the people of Israel; they took possession of Samaria, and settled in its cities. When they first settled there, they did not worship the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land; therefore he has sent lions among them; they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there; let him go and live there, and teach them the law of the god of the land.” So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel; he taught them how they should worship the Lord.

But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived; the people of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the people of Cuth made Nergal, the people of Hamath made Ashima; the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. They also worshiped the Lord and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. So they worshiped the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. To this day they continue to practice their former customs.

They do not worship the Lord and they do not follow the statutes or the ordinances or the law or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. The Lord had made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not worship other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, but you shall worship the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm; you shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. The statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to observe. You shall not worship other gods; you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not worship other gods, but you shall worship the Lord your God; he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” They would not listen, however, but they continued to practice their former custom.

So these nations worshiped the Lord, but also served their carved images; to this day their children and their children's children continue to do as their ancestors did.

Semi-continuous Hebrew Scripture from the Latter Prophets: Jeremiah 18:12-23

But they say, “It is no use! We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will.”

Therefore thus says the Lord: Ask among the nations:  Who has heard the like of this? The virgin Israel has done  a most horrible thing. Does the snow of Lebanon leave  the crags of Sirion? Do the mountain waters run dry,  the cold flowing streams? But my people have forgotten me,  they burn offerings to a delusion; they have stumbled in their ways,  in the ancient roads, and have gone into bypaths,  not the highway, making their land a horror,  a thing to be hissed at forever. All who pass by it are horrified  and shake their heads. Like the wind from the east,  I will scatter them before the enemy. I will show them my back, not my face,  in the day of their calamity.

Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah—for instruction shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us bring charges against him, and let us not heed any of his words.”

Give heed to me, O Lord,  and listen to what my adversaries say! Is evil a recompense for good?  Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you  to speak good for them,  to turn away your wrath from them. Therefore give their children over to famine;  hurl them out to the power of the sword, let their wives become childless and widowed.  May their men meet death by pestilence,  their youths be slain by the sword in battle. May a cry be heard from their houses,  when you bring the marauder suddenly upon them! For they have dug a pit to catch me,  and laid snares for my feet. Yet you, O Lord, know  all their plotting to kill me. Do not forgive their iniquity,  do not blot out their sin from your sight. Let them be tripped up before you;  deal with them while you are angry.

Complementary Psalm 101

I will sing of loyalty and of justice;  to you, O Lord, I will sing. I will study the way that is blameless.  When shall I attain it?

I will walk with integrity of heart  within my house; I will not set before my eyes  anything that is base. I hate the work of those who fall away;  it shall not cling to me. Perverseness of heart shall be far from me;  I will know nothing of evil.

One who secretly slanders a neighbor  I will destroy. A haughty look and an arrogant heart  I will not tolerate.

I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,  so that they may live with me; whoever walks in the way that is blameless  shall minister to me. No one who practices deceit  shall remain in my house; no one who utters lies  shall continue in my presence. Morning by morning I will destroy  all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers  from the city of the Lord.

Semi-continuous Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire,  and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves,  and the rulers take counsel together,  against the Lord and his anointed,¹ saying, “Let us burst their bonds asunder,  and cast their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs;  the Lord has them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath,  and terrify them in his fury, saying, “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my son;  today I have begotten you.² Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,  and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron,  and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;  be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear,  with trembling³ kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;  for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.

¹These verses are quoted in Acts 4:23-31, where the believers pray for boldness. ²Paul quotes this verse when he is preaching at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:26-34) ³This phrase is repeated in what scholars think is an early hymn found in Philippians 2:5-11.

New Testament Epistle Lesson: 1 Timothy 3:14—4:5

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great:

He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God's word and by prayer.

Year C Ordinary 23, Catholic Proper 23, RCL Proper 18: Monday

Bible verses from The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All right reserved. Selections from Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright 1995 by the Consultation on Common Texts. Footnotes in the Hebrew Scriptures that show where the passage is used in the Christian Scriptures are based on information from the The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) by David H. Stern, Copyright © 1998 and 2006 by David H. Stern, used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved worldwide. When text is taken from the CJB, the passage ends with (CJB) and this copyright notice applies. Image credit: St. Timothy by an anonymous icon writer, via Wikimedia Commons. This is a public domain image. Creative Commons 0 license.

[human-perspective]

O LORD of Heaven's Armies, you make righteous judgments, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets.

Jeremiah 11: 20 NLT