9th.: The Priests of Anathoth
God and Israel had made a binding treaty. (Jer. 11:1-4)
God had wanted to bless the people of Israel materially (v5).
But they would not listen.
God implored the people of Judah and Jerusalem to keep their part.
Again - they would not listen.
They wanted to worship lies (Jer. 11:6-13). But lies don't show accountability.
So God planned to punish them (see Jer. 11:17 and Deut. 27:1-Deut. 28:47).
As an aside, God let Jeremiah know about the plot conceived by his kinsman, the priests of Anathoth to kill Jeremiah (Jer. 11: 18-19). Their betrayal frightened Jeremiah. He asked the Lord,
“But, O Lord, that judges righteously, that tries the reigns, and the heart, let me see vengeance on them, for unto thee have I revealed my cause.” (Jer. 11:20).
The Lord then let Jeremiah know that he would punish the priests of Anathoth (Jer. 11:21-23).
The friendly, conversational, dialogue between the Lord and Jeremiah was something to notice in this chapter.
Might we also get to the point, where we have similar conversational dialogues with the Lord.
“Whom the Lord knew face to face.” (Deut. 34:10c)