Jeremiah 8
OGCREVIEW OF CHAPTER EIGHT
I. Facts to Master.
The name of the northern-most town of Pales tine (Jeremiah 8:16).
The _______________ is past, the _____________is ended and we are not saved (Jeremiah 8:20).
IS there no ______ in Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22).
Significant tides for God (Jeremiah 10:7; Jeremiah 10:16).
Distant lands from which precious metals were brought to be made into idols (Jeremiah 10:9).
The peculiar thing about Jeremiah 10:11.
The identity of the shepherds and the flock in Jeremiah 10:21.
II. Questions to Ponder.
What is the point of the contrast between the migratory birds and the people of God? Jeremiah 8:7.
In what way had sin blinded the eyes of the people of Judah? See Jeremiah 8:8.
What is meant by the expression the false pen of the scribes bath wrought falsely? (Jeremiah 8:8).
Who is a wise man? See Jeremiah 8:9, Jeremiah 9:12.
The inhabitants of Judah could not blush (Jeremiah 8:12). Has the present generation lost its sense of shame?
What are the wormwood and the gall mentioned in Jeremiah 8:14 and Jeremiah 9:15?
What is meant by the expression, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved? (Jeremiah 8:20).
Is there a suggestion for every Gospel preacher in Jeremiah 8:18 to Jeremiah 9:9, the lament of Jeremiah? What is it?
What strong impulse does Jeremiah have as he views the corruption of the society of his day? (Jeremiah 9:2). Did God intend for Christians to live in monasteries?
What was the fulfillment of the prophecy uttered in Jeremiah 9:10-11?
What were some of the mourning customs in ancient Israel? Check a Bible dictionary.
Is it wrong for a Christian to boast? See Jeremiah 9:23-24, also Galatians 6:14.
Two kinds of uncircumcision are distinguished in Jeremiah 9:25-26. What does circumcision in this passage symbolize? Sometimes preachers are heard to say: you people may have been baptized but your hearts were never really yielded to God. Is this good theology? Can a person be baptized and remain unconverted?
Is there anything wrong with the Christian wearing good luck charms? Should he be afraid of Friday the 13th, broken mirrors, or walking beneath ladders? What about astrology? See Jeremiah 10:1-5.
How would you describe Jeremiah’s attitude toward his own personal grief? (Jeremiah 10:19)
Analyze the prayer which closes chapter 10. What confession is made? What personal petition? What imprecation?
Jeremiah 8:1-3
B. The Future Destruction Jeremiah 7:32 to Jeremiah 8:3
TRANSLATION
(32) Therefore behold, days are coming (oracle of the LORD) when it shall no longer be called the Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom but the valley of Slaughter; for they shall bury in Topheth for lack of place to bury. (33) And the carcasses of this people shall become food for the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and no one shall cause them to be afraid. (Jeremiah 8:1) In that time (oracle of 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 from their graves. (2) And they shall spread them to the sun and to the moon and to all the host of the heavens which they loved and served and went after and which they sought and which they worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall become dung upon the face of the ground. (3) Death shall be chosen rather than life by all the remnant of this evil family who remain in all the places where I have driven them (oracle of the LORD of hosts).
COMMENTS
The polluted worship of the people of Judah will be punished in a most decisive way. A disaster will befall Judah in which so many people will be slain or die that even the pagan shrines will be converted to cemeteries. The valley of the son of Hinnom will be renamed the valley of slaughter because of the vast numbers that will be buried there (Jeremiah 7:32). The very spot where they had tried to court the favor of a pagan deity by offering their own children as burnt offerings will become a permanent monument to the folly of idolatry. But even this huge valley will not provide enough room for burial places for all the slain. Many corpses will be left unburied. The birds and beasts of prey will come and feast upon the decaying flesh and no one will be left to drive them away (Jeremiah 7:33).[185] In antiquity the lack of proper burial was the worst indignity which could befall a man. The thought of a corpse exposed to the elements of nature horrified the ancient Hebrews.
[185] Jeremiah 7:33 echoes the threat of Deu 28:26.
The cities of Judah met the same fate as Topheth. All the normal sounds of joy and mirth will be removed. The entire land becomes a desolation (Jeremiah 7:34). The word translated desolation is used only of places which, having once been inhabited, have fallen into ruin. It is a gloomy picture indeed which the prophet paints of the future destruction.
Not only will the enemies of Judah leave the dead unburied (Jeremiah 7:33) they will also violate the graves of those who had been interred. In search of valuables the Babylonians will ransack the sepulchers of the leading citizens of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 7:1) and scatter their bones across the face of the ground. All the hosts of the heavens which the men of Judah had worshiped in life will helplessly look down upon this act of desecration (Jeremiah 7:2). The Biblical account of the fall of Jerusalem does not record the fulfillment of this particular prediction; but there can scarcely be any doubt that the ruthless Babylonians acted in the manner here described. The apocryphal book of Baruch (Jeremiah 2:24 f.) does allude to acts of desecration at the fall of Jerusalem.
For those who escape the destruction of Jerusalem and go into exile life will be so miserable that they will wish they were dead (Jeremiah 7:3). Practically nothing is known about the Jews who scattered into the neighboring countries of Syria-Palestine during the war with Babylon. Something of the despair of the Jewish exiles in Babylon shortly after 587 B.C. can be seen in Psalms 137. Time, of course, softened the utter despair of the exiles. The deportation to Babylon was for them a tremendous religious shock. They were forced to rethink their whole theology. As the exiles changed their mind and their heart in respect to God their lot improved. They adjusted to their surroundings and many of them actually prospered in exile. Jeremiah 7:3 must be describing the initial reaction of those who were carried away captive.[186]
[186] Laetsch views Jeremiah 7:3 as a conditional threat which was unfulfilled because of the repentance of the exiles.
Jeremiah 8:4-7
CHAPTER EIGHT
SERMONS FROM THE EARLY REIGN OF JEHOIAKIM
Jeremiah 8:4 to Jeremiah 10:25
The oracles in Jeremiah 8:4 to Jeremiah 10:25 are undated. They may well represent excerpts from the sermons of Jeremiah preached in the streets of Jerusalem between 608 B.C. and 597 B.C. before the Babylonians captured the city at the end of the reign of Jehoiakim. Many would date these oracles in the very early years of Jehoiakim, before the important battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C.
For the most part this section contains excerpts from the sermons of Jeremiah. Those excerpts in Jeremiah 8:4 to Jeremiah 9:26 are characterized by the technique of asking and answering questions. Among these bits of sermons is found a beautiful poem in which Jeremiah expresses his personal distress over the prospects of the nation (Jeremiah 8:18 to Jeremiah 9:9). Chapter 10 contains a longer message on the subject of idolatry. The section ends with a prophetic prayer (Jeremiah 10:23-25). If one were to attempt to provide the sermonettes of this section with captions the following might be suggested: (1) Stubborn Apostasy (Jeremiah 8:4 to Jeremiah 9:1); (2) National Corruption (Jeremiah 9:2-26); (3) True Glory (Jeremiah 9:22-23); (4) The Uncircumcised Heart (Jeremiah 9:24-25); (5) God vs. the Idols (Jeremiah 10:1-25).
I. STUBBORN APOSTASY Jeremiah 8:4 to Jeremiah 9:1
Stubborn apostasy was ultimately responsible for the downfall of Judah. It is no wonder then that Jeremiah returns to this subject again and again. Here he dwells on the unreasonable persistence in rebellion (Jeremiah 8:4-7); the unwise proclamations by the leaders (Jeremiah 8:8-10) and the unavoidable punishment which would fall upon the people (Jeremiah 8:13-17). All of this causes Jeremiah to give expression to the unbearable pain of his own soul (Jeremiah 8:18 to Jeremiah 9:1).
A. Unreasonable Persistence in Apostasy Jeremiah 8:4-7
TRANSLATION
(4) And you shall say unto them, Thus says the LORD: Do men fall and not rise again? Does one turn away and not return? (5) Why has this people, Jerusalem, turned away with perpetual backsliding? They cling to deceit, they refuse to return. (6) I have been attentive and listened, but they continue to speak what is not right. There is not a man who repented of his evil, saying, what have I done? Everyone turns away in their course as a horse rushing into battle. (7) Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times and the dove, the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming, but My people do not know the ordinance of the LORD.
COMMENTS
In attempting to jar the people into a realization of their stupid and stubborn apostasy Jeremiah appeals to common sense. A man who has fallen will not remain quietly on the ground without attempting to arise. A man who accidentally wanders from the pathway will not persist in traveling in the wrong direction (Jeremiah 8:4). Yet Jerusalem has turned away from God and refuses to turn back to Him. Tenaciously they cling to deceit, i.e., idols. As far as Jeremiah was concerned, idols were outright frauds. The men of Judah embraced the unreal and repudiated the one true and living God. And even after this folly is pointed out to them they refuse to return (Jeremiah 8:5). To Jeremiah this was unreasonable behavior. The prophet listened attentively for some word, some slight indication that the people intended to repent. No such word was forthcoming. On the contrary they continue to speak what is not right, what is not appropriate. There is no sorrow for sin, no acknowledgement of wrong doing, no request for forgiveness. They rush to their idolatry like a horse charges into battle (Jeremiah 8:6).
The unreasonableness of the apostasy of Judah is further emphasized by citing the example of the birds of the heavens. Migratory birds like the dove, the swallow, the crane and the stork obey their instincts without fail. At their appointed times these birds travel hundreds and even thousands of miles to return to the home they have left. Never do they assert themselves against the will of their Creator. Not so God’s highest creation. Men ignore the fundamental laws of God and the principles of behavior which He has ordained. Men stifle the instinct to worship their Creator and instead produce gods of their own making, gods they can manipulate and control, gods made in man’s image.
Jeremiah 8:8-12
B. Unwise Proclamations by National Leaders Jeremiah 8:8-12
TRANSLATION
(8) How can you say, We are wise! The Torah of the LORD is with us. But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has labored falsely. (9) The wise shall be put to shame, they shall be dismayed when they are captured. Behold, they have spurned the word of the LORD and what kind of wisdom do they possess? (10) Therefore I will give their wives to others, their fields to dispossessors; for from least to the greatest everyone of them is out for illicit gain; from the prophet even unto the priest everyone of them practices deceit. (11) They heal up the hurt of the daughter of My people lightly, saying, Peace, Peace; when there is no peace. (12) They shall be put to shame because they have committed abomination; yea they do not at all feel ashamed nor do they know how to blush; therefore they shall fall among those who fall; in the time of their visitation they shall stumble, says the LORD.
COMMENTS
The wise men of Judah felt that they had no need for the preaching of Jeremiah. They had the Torah, the written precepts of the Law, so what use did they have for this agitator from Anathoth. Let Jeremiah keep his advice to himself; for we are wise and we are the divinely appointed teachers of the people. Among the wise men the scribes are singled out for special comment. The scribes in Old Testament times were men who could write. They often served as officials of the royal court (2 Kings 12:10) and sometimes as military officers (Jeremiah 52:2 ff.). The scribes in Jeremiah’s day were corrupt like the priests and the prophets. Somehow through their writings the scribes were attempting to nullify the written word of God. Perhaps they were publishing the false teaching of the prophets and priests. Perhaps they were making comments upon the Pentateuch which in effect warped its teaching. Some have proposed that these scribes were even guilty of altering the very text of the word of God. Whatever they were doing, these perverse scribes were distorting, twisting, perverting the truth. The lying pens of scholars through the ages have been directed against the Scriptures. Through false interpretations and insidious criticism these wolves in sheep’s clothing have attempted to escape the absolute authority of God’s word. Yet in spite of these attacks Scripture still cannot be broken (John 10:35).
When men reject the wisdom that comes from the word of God what kind of wisdom do they possess? The fear of the Lord and the reverent respect for His word is the beginning of all true wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). How utterly humiliated these wise men of Judah will be when calamities one after another fall upon the nation (Jeremiah 8:9). Human wisdom, human logic, human theology had declared Jerusalem to be inviolable. How embarrassed these learned men will be when they are captured and all they possess is given into the hands of the Chaldean conquerors. Because of their greed the prophets and priests had deliberately deceived the people (Jeremiah 8:10). But in the end they will lose all that they had accumulated. Instead of dealing with the spiritual maladies of the nation these religious leaders were merely concealing the impeding disaster by assuring the people of peace (Jeremiah 8:11). In misleading the people these men had committed abominations, yet they show no shame whatsoever. But when the judgment falls on Judah these proud and confident men will stumble and fall before the sword of the enemy (Jeremiah 8:12).
Jeremiah 8:13-17
C. Unavoidable Punishment at the Hand of God Jeremiah 8:13-17
TRANSLATION
(13) I will utterly consume them (oracle of the LORD). No grapes are on the vine and no figs are on the fig tree. The leaves are withered; and I will appoint for them those who overrun them. (14) Why are we sitting? Assemble yourselves that we may go unto the fortified cities that we may perish there; for the-LORD our God has put us to silence and has caused us to drink poison water because we have sinned against the LORD. (15) We hope for peace but no good came, for the time of healing, but behold, terror. (16) From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses; from the sound of the neighing of his stallions, all the earth shakes. For they shall come and shall consume the land and its fullness, the cities and their inhabitants. (17) For behold, I am about to send against you serpents, poisonous snakes, for which there is no charmer; and they shall bite you (oracle of the LORD).
COMMENTS
In Jeremiah 2:21 Judah is compared to a vine with bad grapes. In the present figure no fruit at all can be found on the vine or on the fig tree. The leaves are even withered. The plant is dying; it is worthless; it must be destroyed. God has already appointed the destroyer. An army shall sweep through that worthless garden like a raging stream overflowing its banks (Jeremiah 8:13).[187] All will be destroyed.
[187] On the phrase those who overrun see Isaiah 8:7; Daniel 11:10; Daniel 11:40.
Resorting to one of his favorite rhetorical devices Jeremiah projects himself into the future to dramatically portray what will happen when Judah comes under enemy attack. The inhabitants of the countryside in gloomy despair urge one another to move into the fortified cities. They feel they are under the curse of God, that they shortly will perish (lit., be put to silence). They are resigned to death. If they move to the cities they will die of some pestilence or plague. But at least that is better than falling into the hand of the enemy. They knew that God was making them drink of the poisonous water of divine judgment. They admit now that it is too late that they have sinned against the Lord (Jeremiah 8:14). They had listened to their false prophets and consequently they had expected peace and national healing. But good times did not come; only the terrors of ruthless war.
Jeremiah must have been a spellbinding preacher. He makes his audience almost hear the snorting and neighing of the enemy horses as the Chaldean calvary bears down upon Dan, the northern-most city of Palestine. All the known world trembles at the news that the mighty northern enemy is sweeping southward. The land and its produce, the cities and their inhabitants will be consumed by this mighty army (Jeremiah 8:16). Like venomous serpents the enemy will sink their death-dealing fangs into the inhabitants of Judah. No one will be able to charm those snakes; no one will be able to control them (Jeremiah 8:17). The doom is unavoidable.
Jeremiah 8:18-22
D. Unbearable Pain on the Part of the Prophet Jeremiah 8:18 to Jeremiah 9:1
TRANSLATION
(18) O my Comfort against sorrow! My heart is faint within me! (19) Behold, the sound of the cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land: Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her king in her? Why do they provoke Me with their images with their strange vanities? (20) The harvest is past, the summer has ended and we have not been saved. (21) Because of the hurt of the daughter of my people I have been hurt; I mourn, anguish has seized me. (22) Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? For why does not healing come to the daughter of my people? (Jeremiah 9:1) Oh that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears I would bewail day and night the slain of the daughter of my people.
COMMENTS
As Jeremiah sees the apostasy of his people and their impending destruction his heart is sick. He casts himself upon God his comforter (Jeremiah 8:18). The word comforter means literally, the one to cause me to smile, to be cheerful or be bright. Jeremiah hears as it were a dialogue between those who will be taken into exile and God. In a distant land the former inhabitants of Judah lift up a cry for help: Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King in her? They cannot comprehend how Zion, the Temple mount, can be so humiliated and degraded if God is really still on His throne. To this astonished cry God makes answer: Why do they provoke Me with their images? (Jeremiah 8:19). Whatever has befallen Zion has come about because of the idolatry of the people there. Ignoring the explanation of God the exiles of the future continue with their complaint by citing a popular proverb: The harvest is past, the summer has ended and we have not been saved (Jeremiah 8:20). Once the summer harvest was over a farmer looked forward to a period of deliverance from arduous toil. But in the case of the Jewish exiles the hot summer of toil was only followed by the cold winter of despondency. Their national deliverance confidently predicted by the false prophets did not materialize. The exiles were beginning to realize that no speedy deliverance was in the offing.
The unbelief and despair of the people causes even deeper despair in the heart of the prophet. Because of the hurt (lit., shattering) of the daughter of my people I have been hurt. He loves his people as a father might love a daughter. Though Jeremiah sternly rebuked the people of Judah throughout his ministry yet all the while his heart was broken because of them. He did not want to see his people destroyed. Is there no balm (or medicine) in Gilead? the prophet asks. Gilead, located east of the Jordan river, was famous in old Testament times for its balm. It is not certain just what this balm was but the suggestion has been made that it was the juice of the turpentine tree. The material was exported (Ezekiel 27:17) and was very costly (Genesis 43:11). The balm of Gilead was prized for its medicinal properties. There was no healing ointment which could be applied to the spiritual wound of Judah. There were no physicians who might be able to deal with the difficulty (Jeremiah 8:22). Nothing can cure the ailment of Judah except a whole-hearted return to the divine Physician (Exodus 15:26). Jeremiah wishes that his head could produce an inexhaustible supply of tears that he might lament the inevitable doom of his people (Jeremiah 8:1). In spite of their sin, in spite of the way they had rejected God’s message, the inhabitants of Judah were still my people as far as Jeremiah was concerned.