The Lord had made his covenant with Israel after he had brought them out of Egypt, but the unchanging terms of the covenant are that curses will come to those who disobey the covenant (Deuteronomy 27:26). The Lord had said to Israel at Mount Sinai, Listen to my voice, and all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God.
Obedience to the covenant would result in blessing, not least of which was the privilege of being the Lord’s people and having him as their God. It is ominous, however, that Jeremiah’s sermon to the people of Judah focuses on the curse rather than the blessing.1 Rather than blessing, they faced covenant curses because of their failure to hear and obey the words of the covenant.
3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant