Therefore this is what the LORD says: "I will lay stumbling blocks before this people; fathers and sons alike will be staggered; friends and neighbors will perish." Therefore this is what the LORD says:This phrase introduces a divine pronouncement, emphasizing the authority and certainty of the message. In the context of Jeremiah, the prophet often serves as the mouthpiece for God's warnings and judgments against Judah. The use of "therefore" connects this statement to the preceding verses, where God condemns the people's refusal to heed His warnings and their persistent sinfulness. I will lay stumbling blocks before this people;
Stumbling blocks symbolize obstacles or challenges that lead to downfall or failure. In the biblical context, they often represent divine judgment or consequences for sin. Here, God is actively placing these stumbling blocks, indicating that the people's own actions have led to this divine intervention. This imagery is consistent with other prophetic literature, where God uses various means to bring about repentance or judgment (Isaiah 8:14-15). fathers and sons alike will be staggered;
The mention of "fathers and sons" highlights the comprehensive nature of the judgment, affecting all generations. This reflects the communal aspect of sin and its consequences in ancient Israelite society. The staggering suggests confusion, disorientation, and helplessness, a common theme in prophetic warnings where the people's strength and wisdom fail them in the face of divine judgment (Isaiah 51:17). friends and neighbors will perish.
This phrase underscores the widespread devastation that will result from the judgment. The inclusion of "friends and neighbors" indicates that the social fabric of the community will be torn apart. This is a common outcome in prophetic literature, where societal collapse accompanies divine judgment (Ezekiel 7:15-16). The perishing of close relations also serves as a stark warning of the seriousness of turning away from God, as seen in the broader narrative of Israel's history. Persons / Places / Events 1. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant God of Israel, who is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah. 2. JeremiahA prophet called by God to deliver messages of warning and judgment to the people of Judah. 3. The People of JudahThe southern kingdom of Israel, who are the recipients of God's message through Jeremiah. 4. Stumbling BlocksMetaphorical obstacles that God will place before the people, symbolizing judgment and the consequences of their disobedience. 5. Fathers, Sons, Neighbors, and FriendsRepresenting the entire community of Judah, indicating that the judgment will affect all social and familial relationships. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty in JudgmentGod is sovereign and just in His judgments. The stumbling blocks are a direct result of the people's disobedience and rejection of His commands. The Consequences of DisobedienceDisobedience to God leads to severe consequences, affecting not just individuals but entire communities and families. The Importance of Heeding God's WarningsGod, in His mercy, provides warnings through His prophets. Ignoring these warnings leads to inevitable judgment. Community ResponsibilityThe passage highlights the interconnectedness of the community. Our actions have repercussions not only for ourselves but also for those around us. Spiritual VigilanceBelievers must remain vigilant and steadfast in their faith to avoid spiritual stumbling blocks that can lead to separation from God. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the concept of "stumbling blocks" in Jeremiah 6:21 relate to the spiritual challenges we face today? 2. In what ways can we ensure that we are not ignoring God's warnings in our personal lives and communities? 3. How does the theme of judgment in Jeremiah 6:21 connect with the New Testament teachings on faith and obedience? 4. What practical steps can we take to support one another in avoiding spiritual pitfalls and maintaining a strong community of faith? 5. Reflect on a time when you experienced a "stumbling block" in your spiritual journey. How did you overcome it, and what role did your faith community play in that process? Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 8:14-15This passage also speaks of God becoming a stumbling block and a rock of offense to the people, highlighting the theme of divine judgment. Ezekiel 3:20Discusses the consequences of turning away from righteousness, similar to the stumbling blocks mentioned in Jeremiah. Romans 9:32-33Paul references the concept of a stumbling stone in relation to faith and the rejection of Christ, drawing a parallel to the spiritual implications of rejecting God's ways. 1 Peter 2:8Peter speaks of Christ as a stone of stumbling, emphasizing the idea that rejecting God's provision leads to spiritual downfall. People Benjamin, JeremiahPlaces Beth-haccherem, Jerusalem, Sheba, Tekoa, ZionTopics Alike, Behold, Blocks, Destruction, Fall, Falling, Fathers, Friend, Friends, Lay, Laying, Neighbor, Neighbors, Neighbour, Obstacles, Perish, Reason, Says, Sons, Stones, Stumble, Stumbled, Stumbling, Stumblingblocks, Stumbling-blocks, ThusDictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 6:21 5186 stumbling Jeremiah 6:19-23 8822 self-justification Library Stedfastness in the Old Paths.
"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."--Jer. vi. 16. Reverence for the old paths is a chief Christian duty. We look to the future indeed with hope; yet this need not stand in the way of our dwelling on the past days of the Church with affection and deference. This is the feeling of our own Church, as continually expressed in the Prayer Book;--not to slight what has gone before, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIIA Blast of the Trumpet against False Peace
The motive with these false prophets is an abominable one. Jeremiah tells us it was an evil covetousness. They preached smooth things because the people would have it so, because they thus brought grist to their own mill, and glory to their own names. Their design was abominable, and without doubt, their end shall be desperate--cast away with the refuse of mankind. These who professed to be the precious sons of God, comparable to fine gold, shall be esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860 Whitefield -- the Method of Grace
George Whitefield, evangelist and leader of Calvinistic Methodists, who has been called the Demosthenes of the pulpit, was born at Gloucester, England, in 1714. He was an impassioned pulpit orator of the popular type, and his power over immense congregations was largely due to his histrionic talent and his exquisitely modulated voice, which has been described as "an organ, a flute, a harp, all in one," and which at times became stentorian. He had a most expressive face, and altho he squinted, in …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3 Reprobation.
In discussing this subject I shall endeavor to show, I. What the true doctrine of reprobation is not. 1. It is not that the ultimate end of God in the creation of any was their damnation. Neither reason nor revelation confirms, but both contradict the assumption, that God has created or can create any being for the purpose of rendering him miserable as an ultimate end. God is love, or he is benevolent, and cannot therefore will the misery of any being as an ultimate end, or for its own sake. It is …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology Prefatory Scripture Passages.
To the Law and to the Testimony; if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.-- Isa. viii. 20. Thus saith the Lord; Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.--Jer. vi. 16. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church Jesus Raises the Widow's Son.
(at Nain in Galilee.) ^C Luke VII. 11-17. ^c 11 And it came to pass soon afterwards [many ancient authorities read on the next day], that he went into a city called Nain; and his disciples went with him, and a great multitude. [We find that Jesus had been thronged with multitudes pretty continuously since the choosing of his twelve apostles. Nain lies on the northern slope of the mountain, which the Crusaders called Little Hermon, between twenty and twenty-five miles south of Capernaum, and about …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Backsliding.
"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away."--Hosea xiv. 4. There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, "slid forward." They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders--those who have been born of the incorruptible …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It An Obscured vision
(Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible Conference.) TEXT: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."--Proverbs 29:18. It is not altogether an easy matter to secure a text for such an occasion as this; not because the texts are so few in number but rather because they are so many, for one has only to turn over the pages of the Bible in the most casual way to find them facing him at every reading. Feeling the need of advice for such a time as this, I asked a number of my friends who …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot Sin Charged Upon the Surety
All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. C omparisons, in the Scripture, are frequently to be understood with great limitation: perhaps, out of many circumstances, only one is justly applicable to the case. Thus, when our Lord says, Behold, I come as a thief (Revelation 16:15) , --common sense will fix the resemblance to a single point, that He will come suddenly, and unexpectedly. So when wandering sinners …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 An Address to the Regenerate, Founded on the Preceding Discourses.
James I. 18. James I. 18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. I INTEND the words which I have now been reading, only as an introduction to that address to the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, with which I am now to conclude these lectures; and therefore shall not enter into any critical discussion, either of them, or of the context. I hope God has made the series of these discourses, in some measure, useful to those …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration Scriptures Showing the Sin and Danger of Joining with Wicked and Ungodly Men.
Scriptures Showing The Sin And Danger Of Joining With Wicked And Ungodly Men. When the Lord is punishing such a people against whom he hath a controversy, and a notable controversy, every one that is found shall be thrust through: and every one joined with them shall fall, Isa. xiii. 15. They partake in their judgment, not only because in a common calamity all shares, (as in Ezek. xxi. 3.) but chiefly because joined with and partakers with these whom God is pursuing; even as the strangers that join …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning How those who Fear Scourges and those who Contemn them are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 14.) Differently to be admonished are those who fear scourges, and on that account live innocently, and those who have grown so hard in wickedness as not to be corrected even by scourges. For those who fear scourges are to be told by no means to desire temporal goods as being of great account, seeing that bad men also have them, and by no means to shun present evils as intolerable, seeing they are not ignorant how for the most part good men also are touched by them. They are to be admonished …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Jeremiah 6:21 NIVJeremiah 6:21 NLTJeremiah 6:21 ESVJeremiah 6:21 NASBJeremiah 6:21 KJV
Jeremiah 6:21 Commentaries
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