We come now to Jeremiah 11, and there we find a new and very solemn warning to the men of Judah and Jerusalem. As a rule, in all the prophets of Israel progress may be observed in their messages; there is increasing depth in the appeals of the Spirit of God to the people. Here, then, we have "Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey My voice, and do them according to all which I command you: so shall ye be My people, and I will be your God: that I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Jehovah" (verses 3-5).
Their disobedience is solemnly brought home to them. "Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil upon them." The time has now come to execute the curse - the curse that was pronounced in the days of Moses was executed in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. Consequently, a vast change took place in the relation of the people before Jehovah. They now came as distinctly under the curse as up to that time they were simply under chastening. It was a new thing; they had broken the covenant.