And when this people, or a prophet, or a priest, ask thee, saying, What is the burden of Jehovah? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even cast you off, saith Jehovah.
Through this chapter Jeremiah exposes prophets who spoke in God's name without being sent. Now God takes their favourite phrase away from them. When anyone asks Jeremiah for "the burden of the LORD," he must turn the word back on the asker: you are the burden, and God will cast you off.
"Burden" was a standard word for a prophetic message. Commentators differ on exactly what it means. A Bible dictionary sets out both views and notes what God forbids here:
Besides the common use of this word, it occurs at the start of several prophecies, such as "The burden of Babylon," "the burden of Moab" (Isaiah 13:1; 15:1, and so on). Scholars do not agree on the force of the Hebrew word massa here. Its natural meaning would be "a judgment that lies heavy on the people," but some take it to mean "an oracle or sentence pronounced against them." The word also occurs in Jeremiah 23:33-38, where it is "the burden of the LORD." The false prophets were not to use this expression, as if they had a message from God. If they did, it would bring judgment on them.
Why that word? One writer points to the effect God intends by it:
The word burden carries the thought of a weight that is hard to bear, for God is bringing His displeasure to bear on mankind, and He intends people to feel it.
They asked for a burden. In the answer they become the burden, and God casts it off:
Verses 33-40. If they ask the question, "What is the burden of the LORD?" the answer is to be, "I will cast you off." The burden, or word of the Lord, is not to be mentioned again to them. They will be utterly forgotten and forsaken, with everlasting reproach and perpetual shame on them.
The verse names three groups: the people, a prophet and a priest. God clears none of them:
From verse 33 to the end of the chapter we see that the people, the prophet and the priest are all alike walking in vanity and not in the truth. They use the Name of the Lord in vain. So the Lord says, "I will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you." He would cast them out of His sight and make them a lasting shame (vv. 39-40).
These prophets had real influence with the people, and popularity decided what they said:
The weight of that influence was quickly turned against God. It was more popular to prophesy smooth things and deceits, and nothing is so dear to the human heart as to have God's approval for its own desires. That is why the prophets were popular who would say, "Thus says the LORD," when the LORD had not spoken. We should not suppose that these prophets were always inventing lies, but they corrupted the word of God and made it suit man's taste (2 Corinthians 2:17). They had to imitate many of the expressions of the real prophets, and yet in the end they only produced their own empty speculations.
God takes the phrase away, so no one can hide his own words behind His name:
The fitting burden now was that the LORD would forsake them. No one was to mention the burden of the LORD any more, for every man's word would be his own burden. He would cast out prophet, priest and people from His presence, and bring on them a lasting reproach and a perpetual shame that would not be forgotten.
God banned the phrase because it had gone empty, not because He had stopped speaking. A real burden still shows itself:
To someone with a "burden of the LORD" resting on his soul, no time would be unsuitable. Like Jeremiah, he would find that the Word was in his heart like a burning fire, and he would grow weary with holding back, and would not be able to stop (Jeremiah 23:38; 20:9).
- Burden. The word means a message that lies heavy — God's displeasure brought to bear, and meant to be felt.
- Question. The phrase had become a formula. People kept it alive because messages shaped to their taste sold well.
- Answer. God turns the word back on them: they are the burden, and He will cast them off.
- Reach. Prophet, priest and people fall under it together — all three were using His name in vain.
- Result. God withdraws the phrase, and every man's own word becomes his own burden. A true burden burns in a man until he speaks it.
And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of Jehovah, I will even punish that man and his house.
Here God turns against a catchphrase. "The burden of the LORD" was on everyone's lips, and He promises to punish anyone who keeps saying it, together with his household.
The phrase was not slang. It was the standard heading over a prophetic message, and scholars still argue about what it means:
Apart from its ordinary use, this word stands at the start of several prophecies, such as "The burden of Babylon" and "the burden of Moab" (Isaiah 13:1; Isaiah 15:1, and others). Scholars do not agree on the force of massa in these places. Its natural meaning would be "a judgement that lies heavy on the people." But some take it to mean "an oracle or sentence pronounced against them." The word also occurs in Jeremiah 23:33-38, where it is "the burden of the Lord." The false prophets were not to use this expression, as if they had a message from God. If they did, it would bring judgement on them.
The verse names three groups, and the prophets come first. In the nation's turning away from God, they had drifted as far as the priests had:
So we find God's special witnesses speaking against the prophets in the middle of the apostasy just as much as against the priests. The two go together. But the prophets seem to have taken a bigger part in pushing the apostasy forward, and so the real prophets of the Lord speak to them more often. This testimony of the Lord against the prophets grew as the apostasy set in. The nearer the ruin came (such is the way of His grace), the more testimony He raised about it. But as God multiplied His witnesses, the prophets of the people multiplied too.
The people are not spared either, because the whole nation had gone the same way:
It was very sad that God should have to speak to His people like this. "The prophet, and the priest, and the people" were all marked by departure from Him. So the Lord has to say to them, "For you have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God" (Jeremiah 23:34-36).
God is not objecting to a word. He is objecting to men borrowing His vocabulary to give their own thoughts authority:
But the weight of the prophets' influence soon turned against God. It was more popular to prophesy smooth things and lies. Nothing is so dear to the human heart as having God's approval on its own desires. So the popular prophets were the ones who would say, "Thus says the Lord," when the Lord had not spoken. We should not suppose that these prophets were always inventing lies. But they corrupted the word of God and made it fit man's taste (2 Corinthians 2:17). They had to copy many of the real prophets' expressions. Yet in the end they only produced their own empty speculations.
The punishment fits the crime. They wanted a burden from the Lord, and now they get one:
The burden now due to them was this: Jehovah would forsake them. They were not to mention the burden of Jehovah any more, for every man's word should be his burden. He would cast out prophet, priest and people from His presence. He would bring on them an everlasting reproach and a lasting shame that no one would forget.
The same danger did not end with Judah:
They prophesied lies in the name of Jehovah; they were prophets of the deceit of their own heart. They tried to make the people forget the Name of Jehovah. This is still the work of teachers today who have turned away from the truth. They speak out of the deceit of their hearts. They prophesy lies, and they take aim at the Name which is above every Name.
Judgment is not the last word in this chapter:
So in Jeremiah 23 we have their general and solemn judgment, but not without the vision of sovereign mercy when the Son of David shall arise. How refreshing to read such words in the middle of the moral horrors we have had before us!
- The word. "Burden" (massa) headed real prophecies. Commentators differ over whether it means a heavy judgment or a sentence passed. Either way, it was God's word, not a slogan.
- The theft. Men copied the words of true prophets and filled them with their own speculations. A message shaped to suit people's desires is always more popular.
- The reach. Prophet, priest and people all fall under the same charge. The prophets are named first, and the punishment reaches a man's household.
- The reversal. They asked for the burden of the Lord, and they got one. God forsook them, and every man's own word became his burden.
- The hope. The same chapter that condemns the false shepherds promises the true Son of David. Mercy stands beside the judgment.
Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother What hath Jehovah answered? and, What hath Jehovah spoken?
The chapter has been exposing prophets who stamped God's name on their own words. Now God tells the people how to speak instead. They must drop the phrase they had been throwing around. They are to ask each other what He has said.
People, priests and prophets all used one expression — "the burden of the LORD" — as a label for whatever anyone cared to announce. God takes that word out of their mouths and gives them a real burden instead.
The real burden now was that the LORD would forsake them. They were not to speak of "the burden of the LORD" any more, because every man's own word would be his burden. He would cast prophet, priest, and people out of His presence. He would bring on them everlasting disgrace, and a lasting shame that would never be forgotten.
Another writer gives God's answer to the banned question.
If they ask, "What is the burden of the LORD?" the answer is to be, "I will cast you off." The burden, or word of the Lord, will not be mentioned to them again.
Verse 35 speaks to neighbours and brothers — ordinary people, not just the prophets. The end of the chapter puts all three groups together.
From verse 33 to the end of the chapter, the people, the prophet and the priest are all walking in vanity and not in the truth. They use the Name of the Lord in vain. So the Lord says, "I will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you."
What made this so serious was not sloppy speech but the handling of words that belonged to God Himself.
It was very sad that God had to speak to His people this way. "The prophet, and the priest, and the people" were all marked by departure from Him. So the Lord has to say to them, "You have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God" (Jer. 23:34-36). Israel had been the special objects of God's care, and He had done His wonderful works among them. Even so, they turned from the living and true God to serve the idols of the nations.
The new wording turns a speaker into an enquirer. It also drops the label, because God's word needs no label to prove itself. Kelly shows how even an untaught person can tell the real thing.
Give a hungry man a piece of bread, and he knows well that it is bread. He may never have seen that sort of bread before, and may never have tasted it, but he is sure it is bread. Give him a piece of board, and he knows this is not bread. By human learning a man may know very little. Yet God guards even the simplest of His people with a practical test. "What is chaff to the wheat?" The truth of God always commends itself to the consciences of those who hear it.
The question God allows keeps the focus on whether He has spoken at all. That claim leaves no middle ground.
Take that enormous claim of the Bible, "Thus says the LORD," repeated over and over again. Now, did the Lord say it, or did He not? If He did say it, then to treat anything He said as merely human writing is sheer blasphemy. If He did not say it, then to talk of anyone drawing comfort or inspiration from such deceitful words is to recommend a very silly, sentimental — not to say immoral — religion.
Kelly asks the same restraint of anyone who speaks for God now. He builds it on one line of Scripture.
"If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God." According to this, no one should ever speak unless he is fully sure that he is giving out God's mind and message, suited to that time and those souls. If people felt this as they should, would it not stop a great many from speaking? And there is no reason to fear that silence in such a case would be a real loss to the church of God.
- Word — God takes one phrase out of Judah's mouth and hands them another. He corrects the way they speak about Him.
- Burden — the catchphrase they liked became their sentence. Every man's own word turned into his burden.
- Whom — prophet, priest and people are named together. No one could hide behind his role. All had perverted the words of the living God.
- Ask — the question God allows makes a person an enquirer, not an announcer. His word then proves itself, as wheat is known from chaff.
- Speak — stay silent unless you have His message. "Thus says the LORD" is either true or blasphemous, never casual.
And the burden of Jehovah shall ye mention no more; for every man's own word shall be his burden for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of Jehovah of hosts, our God.
God tells Jeremiah to ban a phrase. "The burden of the LORD" had become a slogan anyone could repeat, so God turns the word back on the speakers: their own words are now the weight they carry.
The word behind "burden" is the Hebrew massa. A reference work sets out its range of meaning and the ban given here.
Apart from its ordinary use, this word appears at the start of several prophecies, such as "the burden of Babylon" and "the burden of Moab." Scholars do not agree on the force of massa in such places. Its natural meaning would be "a judgement that lies heavy on the people." Some take it to mean "an oracle or sentence pronounced against them." The word also occurs in Jeremiah 23:33-38, where it is "the burden of the Lord." The false prophets were not to use this expression, as if they had a message from God. If they did, it would bring judgement on them. The same word is translated "prophecy" in Proverbs 30:1 and 31:1.
Why did the phrase spread? One writer points to what listeners wanted to hear.
It was more popular to prophesy smooth things and deceits. Nothing is so dear to the human heart as having God's approval for its own sinful desires. So prophets who would say, "Thus says the Lord," when the Lord had not spoken, became popular. We should not suppose that these prophets were always inventing lies. But they corrupted the word of God and made it suit man's taste (2 Cor. 2:17). They had to copy many of the real prophets' expressions, yet in the end they only produced their own empty ideas.
The verse says every man's own word is his burden. Earlier in the chapter God had named the same fault.
Instead of passing the Word of the Lord to their hearers, "They speak a vision of their own heart." They do not stand in the council of God and cause His people to hear His Word (v. 22). They go out according to their own thoughts instead. How dangerous is that unfaithfulness! It brings in one's own opinions, and so warps or even falsifies the message of God's Word. "I did not send these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied" (v. 21).
The verse ends with the charge: they pervert the words of the living God. One writer names who shared the guilt, and what came of it.
How very sad it was that God should have to speak to His people in this way. "The prophet, and the priest, and the people" were all marked by turning away from Him. So the Lord has to say to them, "You pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God" (Jer. 23:34-36). They had been the special objects of God's care, and He had done His wonderful works among them. Yet Israel had turned from the living and true God to serve the idols of the nations. Is it any wonder that God, in His righteous rule, allowed the nations to take them captive?
God bans the phrase and names the weight that now falls to them instead.
The due burden now was that the LORD would forsake them. They were not to mention the burden of the LORD any more, for every man's word should be his burden. He would cast out prophet, priest, and people from His presence. He would bring on them an everlasting reproach, and a lasting shame that would not be forgotten.
The verse bans the phrase, not the thing itself. One writer describes what a real burden does to the man who carries one.
To one who had a "burden of the LORD" resting on his soul, no time would be the wrong time. Like Jeremiah, he would find that the Word was in his heart as a burning fire. He would be weary with holding it in, and he would not be able to stay (Jer. 23:38; 20:9).
- Burden defined. The word headed many prophecies. It meant a weight: a judgement pressing on people, or a sentence spoken against them.
- Burden borrowed. They kept the phrase and dropped the message. They bent God's word to fit what listeners wanted.
- Burden self-made. Their own thoughts replaced God's word. So the weight they carried was one they made themselves.
- Burden returned. They twisted the words of the living God. His righteous rule fell on prophet, priest and people alike — captivity, and shame that lasted.
- Burden genuine. A real message from God burns in the heart like fire. The one who carries it cannot stay silent — unlike the man who only repeats a phrase.
Thus shalt thou say to the prophet What hath Jehovah answered thee? and, What hath Jehovah spoken?
Jeremiah 23 closes with a dispute over words. The people, their priests and their prophets had made a catchword of "the burden of the LORD," so God hands Jeremiah two plain questions to use instead.
The Hebrew word behind "burden" opens several prophecies. Scholars debate its exact force. A dictionary of Bible terms sets out both senses, and then explains why God took the phrase away from these men:
Besides the common use of this word, it occurs at the start of several prophecies. Examples are "The burden of Babylon" and "the burden of Moab" (Isaiah 13:1; Isaiah 15:1). Scholars do not agree about the force of massa in such places. Its natural meaning would be "a judgment that lies heavy on the people." But some take its meaning to be "an oracle or sentence pronounced against them." The word also occurs in Jeremiah 23:33-38, where it is "the burden of the Lord." The false prophets were not to use this expression, as if they had a message from God. If they did, it should bring judgment upon them.
God took the phrase away because it claimed His authority for a message He had never given. The two questions in its place simply ask what He has said.
They kept demanding "the burden of the LORD." God answers that the real weight now falling on them is His own departure. One commentator traces how their own speech turns back on them:
The burden they now deserved was this: Jehovah would forsake them. They were to speak of "the burden of Jehovah" no more, for every man's word should be his own burden. He would cast out prophet, priest and people from His presence. He would bring on them an everlasting reproach, and a lasting shame that would not be forgotten.
The failure was not confined to a few bad teachers. The whole nation had a hand in it. God names the offence plainly: they had twisted the words of the living God.
How very sad it was that God should have to speak like this to His people. "The prophet, and the priest, and the people" were all marked by departure from Him. So the Lord has to say to them, "For you have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God" (Jeremiah 23:34-36). Israel had been the special object of God's care, and He had done His wonderful works among them. Despite that, Israel had turned from the living and true God to serve the idols of the nations.
If the old label is withdrawn, how is anyone to tell a true message from a false one? The chapter has already answered that, a few verses earlier, and the test costs nothing to apply:
The later part of this chapter again presses the value of the word of Jehovah very strongly, and in an interesting way. The false prophets, the profane priests, and all the other dreamers brought forward their words to deceive, but the Lord stands by His own utterances. And how? Why should they take heed to it? On what ground? On its own intrinsic power. "What is the chaff to the wheat?" Nutritive value decides.
These men were busy and confident. God's complaint was simple: He had not sent them.
God had to say of men who professed to serve Him, "I have not sent these prophets ... yet they ran" (Jeremiah 23:21). Much activity, yet the Lord had not sent them there, and His will should have satisfied them. So while they claimed to be His servants, they did their own will. They dreamed their own dreams and chose their own messages.
- Word. "Burden" (massa) means a heavy judgment, or a sentence spoken against a people. Either way it was God's, and He took it from men who had no message from Him.
- Swap. In its place He gives two honest questions: what has the Lord answered, and what has the Lord spoken?
- Weight. Every man's word became his own burden. The heaviest burden of all was that the Lord would forsake them.
- Spread. Prophet, priest and people all shared the charge of perverting the words of the living God.
- Test. God's word feeds, and so proves itself, as wheat proves itself against chaff. Men who run unsent can only serve their own dreams.
after_note_none:
But since ye say, The burden of Jehovah, therefore thus saith Jehovah Because ye say this word, The burden of Jehovah, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of Jehovah;
God had banned one phrase from His people's lips. Verse 38 quotes them saying it anyway, right back in His face. What happens when people keep using religious language after God tells them to stop?
"The burden of the LORD" was a real title for a prophet's message. By Jeremiah's day the people were tossing it back as a question, after God had forbidden them to say it. His reply refuses the word and turns the question on them:
If they ask the question, "What is the burden of the LORD?" the answer is to be, "I will cast you off." The burden, or word of the Lord, is not to be mentioned again to them. They will be utterly forgotten and forsaken, with everlasting reproach and perpetual shame upon them.
The punishment fits the crime. They asked for a burden; their own words became one.
That Jehovah would forsake them was the due burden now, and the burden of Jehovah was not to be mentioned any more; for every man's word should be his burden.
This was not a scandal confined to a few bad preachers. The verses around it name the prophet, the priest, and the ordinary person together. All three had twisted what God said:
How very sad it was that God should have to speak this way to His people. "The prophet, and the priest, and the people" were all marked by departure from Him. So the Lord has to say to them, "For you have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God." Israel had been the special object of God's care, and He had done His wonderful works among them. Yet they had turned from the living and true God to serve the idols of the nations.
Behind the misuse of the phrase lay a deeper fault. Men spoke for God when God had given them nothing to say. One writer weighs the difference between being sent and going anyway:
If He sends us, all is well; then we may gladly go without a fear or a question; but woe to the one who runs unsent. The Lord had to say of other prophets: "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied" (Jer. 23:21). Let us beware of such work done in the name of the Lord! We all need to take the warning home to ourselves.
Activity was not the problem. Running unsent was.
Much activity, yet not sent there by the Lord, whose will should have contented them. So while professing to be His servants, they did their own will, dreamed their own dreams, chose their own messages, and in truth "forsook God who made" them.
The slide did not happen overnight. One writer points to the moment when men took charge of supplying God's word:
Man had taken God's ordinance into his own keeping — he had an institution of his own for supplying what God alone could supply effectively. So we find the prophets testified against by God's special witnesses in the middle of the apostasy just as much as the priests were... The Lord's testimony against the prophets grew as the apostasy set in. The nearer the ruin came, the more testimony He raised about it — such is the way of His grace.
The phrase itself was never the problem. A real burden will not let a servant rest. One writer sets Jeremiah beside Timothy, whose work was to go on at all times:
All times were to be alike to Timothy; he must never break off his work; he must always watch for a chance to fulfil his calling. To anyone with a "burden of the LORD" resting on his soul, no time would be unsuitable. Like Jeremiah, he would find the Word in his heart as a burning fire. He would be weary with holding it in, and could not stop (Jer. 23:38; 20:9).
The same words can be a fire in one man and an empty phrase in another.
- Phrase — "The burden of the LORD" was a real title for God's message. Jeremiah's generation kept flinging it back after God had banned the words.
- Perversion — The charge is not ignorance. Prophet, priest and people alike had perverted the words of the living God.
- Presumption — Underneath it were men who ran unsent. They dreamed their own dreams and chose their own messages in God's name.
- Penalty — The sentence matches the sin. They asked for a burden, so their own word becomes their burden. God casts them out with lasting shame.
- Proof — A real burden is the one Jeremiah knew: a word burning inside that a servant cannot hold in, in season or out.
therefore behold, I will utterly forget you, and I will cast you off, far from my face, and the city that I gave to you and to your fathers.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And I will bring everlasting reproach upon you, and everlasting shame, that shall not be forgotten.
Jeremiah 23 closes with God's verdict on men who used the phrase "the burden of the LORD" for messages He never gave them. God turns their own word back on them: they will carry not a burden from Him, but a shame that never wears off.
The word behind "burden" had a settled place in prophecy before these men borrowed it.
Besides the common use of this word, it occurs at the beginning of several prophecies, as "the burden of Babylon," "the burden of Moab" (Isaiah 13:1; 15:1, etc.). Scholars do not agree on the force of massa in such places. Its natural meaning would be "a judgment that lies heavy on the people," but some take it to mean "an oracle or sentence pronounced against them." The word also occurs in Jeremiah 23:33-38, where it is "the burden of the LORD." The false prophets were not to use this expression, as if they had a message from God. If they did, it would bring judgment on them.
God now names the burden these men will really carry.
The fitting burden now was that the LORD would forsake them. They were not to mention the burden of the LORD any more, for every man's word would be his burden. He would cast out prophet, priest, and people from His presence. He would bring on them an everlasting reproach, and a perpetual shame which would not be forgotten.
The sentence is not for the prophets alone. It covers prophet, priest and ordinary people, and it names the one fault they share.
From verse 33 to the end of the chapter we see that the people, the prophet and the priest are all alike walking in vanity and not in the truth. They use the Name of the Lord in vain; therefore the Lord says, "I will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you." They should be cast out of His sight, and be a perpetual shame (vv. 39-40).
Vine quotes verse 39 from an older translation, which reads "I will utterly forget you." God forgets them; the shame He brings is not forgotten.
Behind the sentence lies a simple fault: activity God never asked for.
"I have not sent these prophets," had to be said of those who professed to serve Him, "yet they ran." Much activity, yet not sent there by the Lord, whose will should have contented them. So while professing to be His servants, they did their own will, dreamed their own dreams, chose their own messages, and in truth "forsook God who made" them.
Their target was the Name of the LORD, and one commentator sees the same work going on today.
They prophesied lies in the name of the LORD; they were prophets of the deceit of their own heart. They tried to make the people forget the Name of the LORD. Such is still today the work of apostate teachers, who speak out of the deceit of their hearts, who prophesy lies and who aim at the Name which is above every name.
The chapter also shows what a true message from God would have done to those who heard it.
They had no authority at all. If they had caused His people to hear His words, they would have turned them from their evil way. The LORD, who fills heaven and earth, was watching, and He marked those who prophesied lies in His name. If they had His word, let them speak it faithfully.
The chapter ends in judgment, but the book does not stop there.
Jeremiah 24, the last of our section, shows by the sign of the two baskets of figs that a remnant shall be preserved, though the rest as bad figs are utterly rejected... Even in the land of the Chaldeans the eyes of the Lord are on them for good. They should be restored again, too, and established in the land of Israel; but better than the best of the land, they should know the Lord; and better than returning to the place, they should return to Him.
- Burden — massa means a heavy judgment, or a sentence pronounced. The false prophets used the word as if they had a message from God.
- Boomerang — every man's own word becomes his burden. The claim they made turns into the charge against them.
- Everyone — prophet, priest and people fall together. All of them use God's Name in vain instead of standing in the truth.
- Unsent — the root fault is running when God has not sent you. You do your own will, dream your own dreams, choose your own message.
- Remnant — the shame stands, yet the next chapter shows God keeping a remnant. They come back to the land, and better still, they come back to Him.