Through his prophet the Lord reminds the people of Judah that their forefathers had a long history of disobedience. The Lord had solemnly warned
them when he brought them out of Egypt, saying, Obey my voice.
The Hebrew word haed, translated as warned,
is used three times in Jeremiah 11:7, emphasizing the repeated and solemn nature of what was done.1 And yet, they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart.
Throughout her history Israel showed a stubborn refusal to listen to the Lord as he sent prophet after prophet, all calling the nation to be faithful to the covenant. This stubborn disobedience was rooted in the sinful heart of every person.
The Lord has been giving these warnings to hear and obey even to this day.
Even now, through Jeremiah, the Lord is warning the people of Judah that Israel’s history of stubbornly refusing to listen to the words of the Lord continues with the people of Judah in Jeremiah’s day.
The result of this ongoing disobedience is that the Lord brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.
Unlike the people, the Lord would be faithful to the words of the covenant. The promised curses because of disobedience would come. The Lord had been extremely patient with the nation over many decades. On many occasions they had experienced his judgment, but he had never driven them from the land. But now exile is inevitable.
7 Car j'ai averti vos pères, Depuis le jour où je les ai fait monter du pays d'Egypte Jusqu'à ce jour, Je les ai avertis tous les matins, en disant: Ecoutez ma voix!