And the LORD has given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then You showed me their doings.
The title is Jeremiah 11:18 and is Jeremiah telling of the LORD letting him know the evil (ra’) being done by His people, and of the evil (ra’) they are plotting against Jeremiah (against Jehovah rising, in an attempt to thwart His raising up His Nation).
Jeremiah 11
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying,2 Hear you the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;3 And say you unto them, Thus says the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeys not the words of this covenant,4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice [the essence of the Covenant, new and old – as we are told of Abram in Genesis 15:6, saying, “he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”], and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall you be my people, and I will be your God:5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.6 Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear you the words of this covenant, and do them.7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil [ra’] heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do: but they did them not.9 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.11 Therefore thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil [ra’] upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble [ra’].13 For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have you set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.14 Therefore pray not you for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble [ra’].15 What has my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she has wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from you? when you do evil [ra’], then you rejoice.16 The LORD called your name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he has kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.17 For the LORD of hosts, that planted you, has pronounced evil [ra’] against you, for the evil [ra’] of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.18 And the LORD has given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then you showed me their doings.19 But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.20 But, O LORD of hosts, that judges righteously, that tries the reins and the heart, let me see your vengeance on them: for unto you have I revealed my cause.21 Therefore thus says the LORD of the men of Anathoth [praying for the LORD to answer], that seek your life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that you die not by our hand:22 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword [by refusing to hear the word of God]; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine [the self-inflicted famine of not hearing the word of God]:23 And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil [ra’] upon the men of Anathoth [those asking the LORD to answer their prayers, which they are ignorantly praying against Him], even the year of their visitation.
The idea above is that these men who are choosing to remain in their evil, who are refusing to believe the LORD, are rejecting His voice, and thereby are continuing on the path taking them into the consequences of their own evil. Instead of repenting, reconsidering their own understanding so they would be healed (be able to see His presence, and hear His voice), they with feigned humility and prayers contradicting Him, are ignorantly asking Him to stop His own voice. They are praying He would save them from His saving them.
The “visitation” spoken of in verse 23 above is the Hebrew word peqaddah, from the word paqad. In these words, we understand it is speaking of one sent (come) to assess the condition and to give a correct accounting. The word is precisely used in this context in Ezekiel 9:1, where it is rendered “cause them to have charge.” There it is speaking of six men, all with weapons of slaughter in their hands. These represent the six halves of the sacrifice spoken of in Genesis 15:9, prophets whose weapon is the same sword, the word of God they have written, we saw above in Jeremiah 11:22. They represent all the prophets who have been slain for the word of God, for giving their testimony as the LORD sent it by them.
Ezekiel 9 speaks of the man sent to mark those who have seen the abomination corrupting God’s people, and have sighed. The mark is in the heads, forefront of the minds, of those who come to understanding. I am the writer the LORD has sent, and through me He has healed the eyes and ears of those who’ve believed our report. He has, by my hand, brought all the sacrifices of all those He has sent before me, together on this other side, into one coherent message, the gospel of His salvation.
Ezekiel 9
The only problem 1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge [pequddah] over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lies toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go you after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have you pity:6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go you forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah LORD God! will you destroy all the residue of Israel in your pouring out of your fury upon Jerusalem?9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD has forsaken the earth, and the LORD sees not.10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as you have commanded me. [Amen!]
In the above, we see allusions to Daniel 12, which we have recently discussed in this context. There we are told of the time of passing between the sacrifices as the river where the same men in fine linen are seen. Daniel is told of it as the time during which the word of God would be sealed, and he is told it’s opened at this ending. These times are the beginning and end of Abraham’s deep sleep, which we have seen described in Genesis 15.
Ezekiel only uses the word pequddah one other time, also in telling of the time of this opening, when the east gate is opened again, for the LORD to enter. There we are told it has been closed since He left by it (according to the scriptures), which tells of the long sleep of God’s people – when their minds where closed by the corrupt teaching of the men who’ve led them away from His light into darkness (from understanding into ignorance).
Pequddah is rendered “charge” in Ezekiel 44:11, where we are told of the priesthood, which had strayed away from God and went after idols, who will in this ending again have charge at the gate of the house. It is in their hand to lead their own people out of darkness, by repenting. Daniel’s prayer of repentance in Daniel 9 should be their song. They need to be the witnesses to exactly what has happened here. The LORD is present and has made Himself apparent for the salvation of His people. Behold the glory of the LORD God Almighty!
Ezekiel 44
1 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looks toward the east; and it was shut.2 Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.5 And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I say unto you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.6 And you shall say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the LORD God; O you house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,7 In that you have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.8 And you have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but you have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.9 Thus said the LORD God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.10 And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge [peqaddah] at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, says the LORD God, and they shall bear their iniquity.13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok [righteousness], that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, says the LORD God: 16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.17 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. [clothed in fine linen, righteousness, again – as they were on the other side, before they went astray.]18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causes sweat.19 And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my Sabbaths.25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that has had no husband, they may defile themselves.26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.27 And in the day that he goes into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the LORD God.28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.30 And the first of all the first-fruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: you shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in your house.31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
Do you understand Daniel 9? If not, it is because of your own abominations, the idols you have created or worship, have blinded your eyes to His presence and closed your ears to His voice.
Matthew 23
31 Wherefore you be witnesses unto yourselves, that you are the children of them which killed the prophets.32 Fill you up then the measure of your fathers.33 You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall you scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zechariah son of Barachias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar.36 Truly I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.39 For I say unto you, You shall not see me henceforth, till you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the LORD.
Daniel 9
1 In the first year of Darius [the seed of David – through Esther, the hidden star – the sun at night] the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.3 And I set my face unto the LORD God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O LORD, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and from your judgments:6 Neither have we hearkened unto your servants the prophets, which spake in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.7 O LORD, righteousness belongs unto you, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you.8 O LORD, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.9 To the LORD our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him;10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed your law, even by departing, that they might not obey your voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.12 And he has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done upon Jerusalem.13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand your truth.14 Therefore has the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he does: for we obeyed not his voice.15 And now, O LORD our God, that have brought your people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have gotten you renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.16 O LORD, according to all your righteousness, I beseech you, let your anger and your fury be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people are become a reproach to all that are about us.17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of your servant, and his supplications, and cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary that is desolate, for the LORD’s sake.18 O my God, incline your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by your name: for we do not present our supplications before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercies.19 O LORD, hear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, hearken and do; defer not, for your own sake, O my God: for your city and your people are called by your name.20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give you skill and understanding.23 At the beginning of your supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show you; for you are greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.24 Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Psalms 91
1 He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.3 Surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.4 He shall cover you with his feathers, and under his wings shall you trust: his truth shall be your shield and buckler.5 You shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day;6 Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday.7 A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come nigh you.8 Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked.9 Because you have made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation;10 There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come nigh your dwelling.11 For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.12 They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.13 You shall tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shall you trample under feet.14 Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he has known my name.15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.16 With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
