Jeremiah 25:7
Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
By 605 BC, Judah had experienced multiple warnings—Assyria's destruction of the northern kingdom (722 BC), near-destruction under Sennacherib (701 BC), and prophetic warnings spanning decades. Yet each generation renewed covenant unfaithfulness. King Jehoiakim exemplified this rebellion: he burned Jeremiah's scroll (36:23), murdered the prophet Urijah (26:20-23), and led the nation in idolatry. The people followed their leaders into apostasy, choosing immediate pleasures over eternal covenant blessings.
Questions for Reflection
- How does sin function as self-inflicted harm rather than merely breaking divine rules, and what does this reveal about God's laws?
- In what ways might we persist in behaviors that provoke God while claiming to love Him, and how can we identify such inconsistencies?
- What does it mean that sin is ultimately 'to your own hurt,' and how should this reality shape our understanding of God's commands?
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Analysis & Commentary
Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. The phrase lĕmaʿan haḵʿîsēnî (לְמַעַן הַכְעִסֵנִי, that you might provoke me to anger) reveals the perverse result of their rebellion. The Hebrew lĕmaʿan typically denotes purpose, suggesting their persistent idolatry functioned as if intentionally designed to anger God. The phrase lĕrāʿ lāḵem (לְרָע לָכֶם, to your own hurt) emphasizes the self-destructive nature of sin. Provoking God's anger doesn't harm God—it destroys the rebel.
This verse encapsulates the tragic irony of sin: people reject God's protective boundaries, thinking independence brings freedom, only to discover they've embraced their own destruction. Sin promises pleasure but delivers death (Romans 6:23). The idols Judah pursued couldn't save them when Babylon arrived; only the God they rejected could have delivered them. This pattern recurs throughout Scripture—the prodigal son pursuing 'freedom' in the far country (Luke 15:11-32), Israel demanding a king to be 'like other nations' only to suffer under tyranny (1 Samuel 8:10-18). We cannot sin with impunity; we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7).