Jeremiah 1:13-16 – There's a price to be paid for unfaithfulness

The first message to the prophet was about the blossoming almond tree in Jeremiah 1:11-12. Through it, God was making the guarantee that every promise of His would be fulfilled, for He was watching over it to bring it to pass. Whether God promises words of hope or words of judgment, they will all come to pass.

 So in Jeremiah 1:13, God asked Jeremiah a similar question on a second occasion. He again asked the prophet, “What do you see?” This time what Jeremiah saw was “… a boiling pot, facing away from the north. And he told the Lord so. Once again, the object God used was something common to enable an easy understanding of the message. A metal either of iron or copper boiling pot was that common object.

What the prophet saw was that pot being laid over an open burning flame. We all have seen scenes in movies of people having a campfire. Water in a pot placed over a naked fire fueled by burning wood would boil over very easily. However, the Hebrew word used here is not “boiling” but “blown up.” The picture the prophet saw was a fire being stoked and the flame fanned. Imagine the woods underneath the pot bursting into flame. And the pot was seen tilted to one side and the boiling water bubbling up and the hot steam rising. This was what Jeremiah saw. But what does it mean?

In Jeremiah 1:14 God Himself then provided the interpretation. He said, “Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north….” What was God saying? It’s a picture of impending trouble coming from the north where wind is blowing from. The pot was tilting threateningly away from the north. The threat could be Assyria, but its power and influence were diminishing. Or it could be Babylon which had incrementally grown in strength. Either way, the point is this: God Himself was bringing the judgment. This was made clear in verse 16. For their wickedness of forsaking Him to offer sacrifices to other gods and worship works of their own making. They would be getting more than what their sin and waywardness deserved.

Jerusalem would be scalded by the boiling water of that pot. What would that mean? The later part of verse 15 said that the kings of the north would come and would set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and besieged it and all the cities of Judah. There would be a total disgrace as the kings would set their thrones at the gates of the capital. Judgment is sure when God’s children choose to walk in disobedience. God guarantees it for He is watching over His word to fulfill it. It behooves us to think carefully about how we ought to walk. Don’t be enticed by the gods of this world. Sex, money, power, and the likes may charm for a while but alas they will sting like a viper. Choose to be faithful to God! Choose to heed the words of 1 John 2:15, “ Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”