Jeremiah 8:20

JEREMIAH PREDICTING THE CAPTIVITY.--8:20-22; 9:1-16.

GOLDEN TEXT. -- The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. -- Jeremiah 8:20. TIME. --About B. C. 610. PLACE. --Jerusalem. HELPFUL READINGS. -- Genesis 37:25; Jeremiah 46:10-12; Jeremiah 51:8; Leviticus 26:33. LESSON ANALYSIS. --1. Neglected Opportunities; 2. Fears for. Ruined People; 3. Salvation Rejected; 4. The Fate of the Disobedient.

INTRODUCTION.

There is something unusually pathetic in the career of Jeremiah, the prophet of the captivity of Israel. He was called upon to take the prophetic office at. time when the Jewish nation, honey-combed with idolatry, avarice, and corruption, was swiftly rushing to destruction. Called upon to denounce the, national sins and the terrible wrath to come as. result of departure from God, he became an object of hatred to all the wicked elements in the nation and his whole career bore the burden of. double sorrow, public sorrow for "the slain of the daughter of his people," and personal sorrow caused by the bitter hatred of his enemies. He was the son of Hilkiah,. priest if not the high priest, and. nephew of Shallum and the prophetess Huldah, the vigorous supporters of the reforms of Josiah. When he was quite young (Jeremiah 1:6), in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, the spirit of prophecy came upon him, and although he was. vigorous supporter of the reforms of that king, he foresaw that they would not be lasting. The corruption was too deep and Jeremiah knew that as soon as the influence of Josiah was removed the relapse would at once begin.

In order to comprehend the struggle, of Jeremiah with his enemies, and the causes that were hurrying the country to destruction, it is needful to consider the times and parties that convulsed the state. The kingdom of Israel had fallen before the Assyrian power; the great empires of Assyria and Egypt threatened Judah on either side; the idolatry that existed among all other races had seduced. great portion of Israel and only the stern hand of Josiah stayed its progress until after his death. "The Princes" of Judah, the great noble families, were mostly idolatrous, avaricious, licentious, oppressors of the poor, and the bitter foes of. preacher like Jeremiah who did not spare their vices. The priests also had, as. rule, become corrupt and cared little whether they served God or Baal. Jeremiah was not only the target of the hatred of the "princes," but his writings show that he was bitterly opposed by the priests and by men of the prophetic order who uttered false oracles. On the other hand there was. party of friends of the old religion who supported and sought to protect its prophet. Among his protectors, Ahikam, the son of Shaphan the scribe, was prominent.

As might be expected the country was filled with division and violence. Feuds divided the great families and prepared the way for an easy conquest. Men had to protect themselves from their own neighbors and kindred. Indeed, the factions devoured each other, much as they did at the time when, nearly seven hundred years later, Titus assailed Jerusalem.

The date of this prophecy is supposed to be after the first invasion of Nebuchadnezzar and before the final destruction of the city.

8:20. The summer is past.

These words and the whole lesson are. portion of. prophecy which Jeremiah was commanded to deliver at the gate of the temple. The address, the message of the Lord to Judah, beginning with chapter 7, warned the nation to distrust the lying prophets who amused it with flatteries, and listen to the voice of the Lord. There was still. possibility of escape by obedience, for, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the, God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings and. will cause you to dwell in this place." If this offer was rejected then the mighty invaders before whom. Damascus, Samaria and Tyre had gone down, would come and assail Jerusalem with. power from which there would be no human deliverance. When it was too late and the impending ruin hung over them, they would cry: "The summer is past; the harvest is ended, and we are not saved.". very poetical and striking way of declaring that the offered opportunities are gone forever.