Jeremiah Chapter 25

Summary

The book of Jeremiah is primarily directed at us today. God used the setting of Judah in order to hide a message to the people of our day. We are living in a day when God is revealing a lot of information that He has kept hidden until now (see God Is Revealing The End). Now we can see that the book of Jeremiah is not just a history book; it is about the events of our day (see Study on The Book Of Jeremiah).

Verse 1
“The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;”

It can be shown from the Bible that Jehoiakim began to reign in 609 BC. Therefore, the fourth year of his reign was 605 BC. This verse indicates that his fourth year was also the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, which agrees with the secular record.¹

Babylon was the wicked nation that God used to rule over and destroy Judah because of its rebellion. Babylon represents Satan’s kingdom and Judah represents those that claim to be God’s people. King Nebuchadnezzar, as the ruler of Babylon, represents Satan. The Great Tribulation of our day is the time when God is allowing Satan to rule over the churches and bring spiritual destruction upon them (see Study on The Antichrist and Judgment On The Church). Therefore, the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign represents the first year of Satan’s rule over the church, which identifies with the first year of the Great Tribulation when Satan was loosed (see Study on The 1000-Year Reign).

Verse 2
“The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying”

God often uses terms like “Judah,” “Jerusalem,” and “Israel” when referring to the church (see Word Study on “Israel”). This chapter is addressing those within the churches today.

Verse 3
“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.”

Josiah reigned for 31 years (2 Kings 22:1, 2 Chronicles 34:1). Since his reign ended the year Jehoiakim’s began (609 BC), we know that Josiah’s reign began in 640 BC. The thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign would have then been 628 BC. Verse 1 told us that this is being spoken in 605 BC so all the math works out perfectly because there are exactly 23 years from 628 BC to 605 BC just as this verse indicates.

When we compare this with the other information we get from the Bible we discover that this 23-year period is directing our attention at the Great Tribulation (see Study on Time Clue: Jeremiah 25). Therefore, this chapter is providing a clue that the Great Tribulation of our day will be 23 years in length. This would certainly agree with the fact that God uses the number 23 to signify judgment (see Number Study on 23).

Take note of the statement, “I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.” We are going to discuss this statement as we examine the next verse.

Verse 4
“And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.”

The warnings of this chapter are directed at those in the churches. This will become more obvious as we continue through the verses of this chapter.

In this verse we find the statement, “rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened.” We found a similar statement in the previous verse. There are three components to this statement:
1. rising early
2. speaking or sending
3. the recipients of the message have not hearkened

We find this three-part combination 12 times in the Bible and 11 of the occurrence are in the book of Jeremiah: Jeremiah 7:13, 7:25, 11:7, 25:3, 25:4, 26:5, 29:19, 32:33, 35:14, 35:15, 44:4. Additionally, in every occurrence the Hebrew verbs for “rising early” and “speaking/sending” are always both in the infinitive form. This is an interesting situation and indicates that this action is continually taking place. In other words, it means the warning doesn’t just come to them from time to time as God warns them through other individuals; it’s there constantly. This is a veiled reference to the fact that they are being warned in the Bible.

When we read Revelation chapters 2 and 3 we find many warnings where God is commanding the churches to stop following false doctrines (see Study on The Seven Churches). We also find many statements elsewhere in the Bible where God is now commanding the believers to come out of the church (see Study on Judgment On The Church).

We saw in a previous paragraph that these warnings are coming to them continually. That is because they are in the Bible in numerous places. They use the Bible everyday in the churches so it is always present, but they aren’t listening to the Bible today. They say they are, but in actuality they are just listening to their previously established doctrines and reading the Bible in light of them.

In Leviticus chapter 26 God established some ground rules. There He indicated that if they reverenced His sanctuary and walked in His statues, then He would bring them spiritual rain:
"Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit." (Leviticus 26:2-4)
But they have defiled His sanctuary by using it as a place to go their own way:
"Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity." (Ezekiel 5:11)
And they have not walked in statutes. Instead, they have despised them:
"Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols." (Ezekiel 20:16)
"Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols." (Ezekiel 20:24)
Therefore, God is withholding spiritual rain from them:
"Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed." (Jeremiah 3:2-3)
If we continue on in Leviticus chapter 26 we find God has stated that if those who claim to be His people despise His statutes then He will turn His back on them, the enemy will rule over them, and they will sow their seed in vain:
"And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you." (Leviticus 26:15-17)

This is exactly what has happened to the church organization. The Holy Spirit has been removed from the churches so that they no longer have God’s protection from Satan (see Study on The Antichrist). Furthermore, God has appointed Satan to rule over them. They sow their seed in vain in that they can preach the Word of God all they want, but it will not result in bringing salvation because the Holy Spirit is not there to apply God’s Word to the hearts of those who are there listening to the preaching.

Verse 5
“They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:”

Verse 6
“And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.”

When we read the statement, “go not after other gods,” we often think of pagan gods, but that is not what God has in view here. When we think of false gospels we often think of religions such as Islam, but that is not what God is referring to here.

Even a church that acknowledges Christ as the Savior and appears to be a legitimate church of God is a church that goes after other gods if it holds doctrines that are not Biblical:
“I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.” (Revelation 2:13-15)

In the context of these false doctrines, God warns in Jeremiah 25:6, “provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands and I will do you no hurt.” False doctrines are not the work of God. Though they appear to be able to be supported by the Bible when it is misinterpreted or misused, they are actually the creation of man based on what man wants to believe. False doctrines are built on a foundation of man’s logic. As this verse indicates, if we follow them, then God will not just sit idle and say, “Well, they say they love Me and they sings praises to Me and really that’s what’s important.” No, the warning is that if we go after false doctrines then there will be harmful consequences.

Verse 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.”

This verse is teaching us that the church as a whole has continued to go after false doctrines throughout its existence.  
For example, when we believe that God is still speaking to man through tongues and visions then we have adopted a false gospel (see Study on Tongues). We are looking for divine truth where there is none, and if we think we’ve found some truth in a tongue that contradicts the Bible then we listen to the newer truth we got from the tongue. Eventually, though we would never say this, the Bible becomes less important to us. We allow our “spiritual experiences” to sidetrack us from studying God’s Word. We believe that these experiences are all part of our walk with God when in actuality they have nothing to do with God. This is how the works of our own hands can be to our own hurt.

Likewise, when we believe in the free-will salvation idea we have adopted a false doctrine (see Study on Salvation). If we believe that we initiated our salvation, then we have watered down the grace of God because it is ultimately our doing that got us saved, not God’s. We would never say that of course, but really that’s what the doctrine states: whether or not you become save rests on a decision that you make. When we hold this doctrine we then have to create other false doctrines in order to fully make sense of the free-will doctrine, and so we create the idea of an age of accountability and the possibility of losing salvation (both of which are not Biblical). Then we read passages that speak of predestination and election we have to interpret those passages as teaching that God simply pre-chose those whom He knew in advance would choose Him. The falsehoods breed more falsehoods until we have a salvation program that in no way resembles the salvation program of the Bible.

We will discover that it is through these manmade false doctrines that God is bringing destruction on the churches in our day.

Verse 8
“Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,”

God does not just embrace the church’s overall interest in Him and overlook all the errors in its teachings. For over 1,900 years God has been warning the churches to correct its teachings (see Study on The Seven Churches), but as we have seen in previous verses they have not heeded these warnings. The churches are not bothered by the fact that almost every church holds different doctrines. This should scare them into thinking, “Maybe we need to go back and re-examine our own teachings to make sure they are accurate.” But that hasn’t been the reaction. Instead, every church continues to cling to their dearly-loved doctrines and they all continue to read the Bible in light of what they already believe to be true.

After putting up with it for over 1,900 years God’s toleration of this rebellion has come to an end…

Verse 9
“Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.”

We discussed in verse 1 that king Nebuchadnezzar represents Satan. This is further confirmed when we read Isaiah chapter 14 where, as it speaks of the king of Babylon, it uses language that can only identify with Satan:
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:12-14)

It’s interesting that here in Jeremiah 25:9 Nebuchadnezzar is referred to as God’s servant. This parallels Ezekiel chapter 29 where Nebuchadnezzar (again typifying Satan) is spoken of as a paid employee of God:
“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.” (Ezekiel 29:12)
As a punishment for the church’s rebellion in creating its own doctrines God is spiritually destroying it. Just as He used the wicked nations of Israel’s day to carry out His judgment, He is using Satan today to carry out His judgment. God loosed Satan at the beginning of the Great Tribulation (see Study on The 1000-Year Reign) for the purpose of letting him rule within the church in order to destroy it. In this sense, Satan has been employed by God as His servant.

Verse 10
“Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.”

The bridegroom is Christ and His voice is the Word of God. The voice of the bridegroom being taken away is language to indicate that the Gospel has been removed. This doesn’t mean that the Bible is nowhere to be found in the churches, but rather that the Holy Spirit is not there to apply the Word of God to hearts as is necessary for salvation to result:
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
This is because once the Great Tribulation began God removed the Holy Spirit from the churches (see Study on The Antichrist). This is the famine that God spoke about in the book of Amos:
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11)

The voice of the bride being taken away is a reminder that during the Great Tribulation the true believers are being removed from the churches, either by their own decision or by being asked to leave for questioning various doctrines. The churches believe that this teaching of Satan ruling in the churches is heresy and so they think they are doing the right thing by removing the people who are making such a claim:
“They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” (John 16:2)
We have learned in other studies that the killing in view here is not a literal killing, but rather it is language to indicate that true believers are being removed the churches (see Study on The Beast).

The sound of the millstones being taken away indicates that the grinding of wheat is no longer taking place. The grinding of wheat is done to make bread. The Bread of Life is Christ:
“I am that bread of life.” (John 6:48)
And Christ is the Word of God in flesh:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
So the sound of the millstones being taken away is really a reiteration that Christ and the Gospel have been removed.

The light of the candle being removed reminds us of when God warned the churches that He would remove their candlestick if they continued to be rebellious:
“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (Revelation 2:5)
The removal of the candlestick is a figure of speech to indicate that the source of light has been removed. Christ is that source of light:
“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5)



Verse 11
“And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

We have seen in other studies that this 70-year tribulation in Judah is really a foreshadowing of the Great Tribulation in which we are currently living (see Study on Patterns Of Tribulation). We are reading here that during this tribulation they shall serve the king of Babylon. This points to the fact that during the Great Tribulation Satan has taken his seat within the churches and rules them, but those within them think it is still God ruling in the churches:
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
(To see this developed in more detail see Study on The Antichrist)

God has declared that because of the spreading of abominations in His holy place (the church) He will make it desolate:
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Daniel 9:27)
And we are commanded to leave the church when we see this time of desolation has come:
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16)
This is language to indicate that we are to leave the churches (see Study on Judgment On The Church) and when we compare this to everything else we read in the Bible we know we are living in this period right now.

Verse 12
“And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.”

This is a reminder that, though Satan will appear to be very successful during the Great Tribulation typified here by 70 years, in the end he will be destroyed:
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

Verse 13
“And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.”

God’s warnings are not empty threats. The entire book of Jeremiah, indeed the whole Bible, is loaded with ugly language referencing the horrible judgment that will eventually come upon the church in our day. We can’t read all of this and think, “Well, maybe it’s not really that bad. Surely God won’t do all of these horrible things He has declared. After all, the churches are filled with people who innocently believe they are following accurate doctrines and they all sing praises to God every Sunday. Surely He won’t bring such a horrible destruction upon them and allow Satan to set up rule over them.”

Unfortunately, that is where we are today. It’s terribly sad. Our human minds have a hard time accepting this. We read this and think, “No, that can’t be.” But God is affirming it for us here in this verse. He is declaring that He will do all that He has said He will do.

Verse 14
“For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.”

The works of their own hands is again a reference to the false doctrines they have made for themselves.

Verse 15
“For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.”

The wine cup of fury reminds us of the cup of God’s wrath that Christ had to drink from when making payment for sin:
“And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:39-42)

By the phrase “all the nations” God here is indicating that the time has come for His final judgment process to shift into encompassing the whole world. As we study the Bible we learn that this final judgment process began at the beginning of the Great Tribulation when God’s judgment was only being executed within the church. At the end of the Great Tribulation on the day of the Rapture it will then expand to include the whole world and will end on the last day when this world is destroyed (see Study on Judgment On The Church and Judgment On The World).

In other words, up to this verse in Jeremiah 25 God’s focus of judgment has been upon the churches. God began the chapter by speaking of the false doctrines the churches have created throughout the Early Rain and the warnings God gave them to repent. Then God shifted into speaking about the consequence of the churches’ refusal to correct their ways; namely, the spiritual destruction He is bringing upon them through the use of Satan. This is the judgment focus of the Great Tribulation. Now God has shifted into speaking about the judgment that comes upon the whole world during the final five months (see Study on The Sixth Seal).

Verse 16
“And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.”

The sword is the Word of God:
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17)
And it is the Word of God that judges mankind:
“For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law” (Romans 2:12)
“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” (James 2:12)

Verse 17
“Then took I the cup at the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:”

The time in view here is the time when God begins to bring the final judgment upon the world. Over the next nine verses God is going to list nations and we will see that the purpose of this passage is to indicate that the entire world will have to drink from the cup of His wrath.

Verse 18
“To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;”

God here begins to list the nations of the world as He brings His judgment against them. Notice that the first nation on the list is Judah, which is used in the Bible to signify those who claim to be God’s people (see Word Study on “Israel”). This is not by accident. Remember, God’s judgment begins with the house of God:
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17)
When have already seen that the Great Tribulation is the period in which God begins His judgment on the church. His final judgment on the rest of the world doesn’t really begin until after the Rapture at the end of the Great Tribulation.

Verse 19
“Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;”

Verse 20
“And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,”

Verse 21
“Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,”

Verse 22
“And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea,”

The phrase “the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea” is language to indicate that all nations even to the farthest reaches are included.

Verse 23
“Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners,”

Once again we find language here to ensure we get the point: this is speaking of a time when the entire world is drinking from the cup of God’s wrath.

Verse 24
“And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert,”

Verse 25
“And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,”

Verse 26
“And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.”

If we hadn’t quite gotten the point yet that this is speaking of a time when the entire world is experiencing God’s wrath, God makes it as clear as possible here by using the phrase “all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth.”

Verse 27
“Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”

This is speaking of a time when all the nations of the world fall, never to rise again. Can there be any doubt this is speaking of the end of the world?

Verse 28
“And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.”

Verse 29
“For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Verse 30
“Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.”

Verse 31
“A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.”

Verse 32
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.”

Verse 33
“And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.”

We learned in another study that during the final five months when God’s wrath is poured out on the whole world the remains of the dead will be exposed from their graves so that they can be shamed and openly destroyed by fire (see Study on The Sixth Seal). We found that a passage in Jeremiah chapter 8 that relates to this period:
“At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.” (Jeremiah 8:1-2)
The language in this passage is similar to that of Jeremiah 25:33. This again provides further proof that this is speaking of the end-times judgment that will come upon the whole world.

Verse 34
“Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.”

The Hebrew word translated as “principal” is actually a plural word. It is a reference to the mighty people of the flock. The shepherds are, of course, also a reference to the leaders of the flock. In other words, God is addressing the pastors here. Remember, God places a certain amount of the blame on them:
“Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.” (Jeremiah 12:10)

The Hebrew word translated “pleasant” here is chemdah, which can also be translated as “desirable”:
“For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire [chemdah] of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Haggai 2:6-7)
This verse is speaking of Christ. He is the desirable one. Jeremiah 25:34 speaks of the unsaved falling like a desirable vessel. Christ is the desirable vessel. By placing the events surrounding the cross in the Bible God has given us an idea of what His wrath is like. If we want to know something about what the penalty for sin is all we have to do is look at what Christ endured. The unsaved will fall like Christ; that is, they will have to face the wrath of God.

Verse 35
“And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.”

God’s justice is perfect. There will be no escape. If it were even possible for God to waive the penalty for sin we certainly would have expected to see it with Christ, but even Christ could not get out of it.

Verse 36
“A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.”

Verse 37
“And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”

The peaceable habitation is the church. It is the house of God. The Gospel is a Gospel of peace:
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15)
It is a Gospel of peace because Christ Himself is the very essence of peace:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
And the Gospel has everything to do with Christ:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Throughout the Early Rain period from 33 AD to the beginning of the Great Tribulation (see Study on The Latter Rain), the churches were the home of the Gospel. They were the peaceable habitations. Once the Great Tribulation began God abandoned them and gave them over to Satan. In that sense, the peaceable habitations have been cut down.

Verse 38
“He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.”

The Hebrew word translated as “covert” here is sok, which can also be translated as “tabernacle” as in Psalm 76:2:
“In Salem also is his tabernacle [sok], and his dwelling place in Zion.”
The statement, “He hath forsaken his covert,” is another reiteration of the fact that God has abandoned the holy place of His name, the churches.

¹http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562966/Nebuchadnezzar_II.html