Jeremiah 10:17-22

C. The Folly of Forsaking God Jeremiah 10:17-22

TRANSLATION

(17) Gather your bundle from the land, you who dwell in the siege. (18) For thus says the LORD! Behold, I am about to hurl out the inhabitants of the land at this time and I shall distress them in order that they might be found. (19) Woe to me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But as for me, I said, Alas, this is a grief that I must bear. (20) My tent is destroyed and all my cords have been snapped; my children have gone away from me and they are dead; there is none to stretch out my tent any longer and to raise up my curtains. (21) For the shepherds are stupid and they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not acted wisely, and all of their flock is scattered. (22) Hark! A report! Behold, it comes! A great shaking out of the land of the north, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, the habitation of jackals.

COMMENTS

Idolatry has inevitable consequences as far as God is concerned. In Jeremiah 10:17 Jeremiah sadly addresses his people and urges them to gather together their possessions and prepare to go into captivity when the siege of the land has ended (Jeremiah 10:17). The inhabitants of Judah are about to be violently expelled from their land, hurled forth as a rock is hurled from a sling. Because of their idolatry God Himself becomes their antagonist. He will bring them into this distress. The last phrase of Jeremiah 10:18 is very difficult, that they might be found. Literally the phrase might be translated, that they might find. Find what? Perhaps the voice of the prophet trailed off and he never completed that sentence. On the other hand it is permissible to translate the last verb as a passive, that they might be found. Only when Judah has been purged of wickedness through the ordeal of captivity will God be able to find or accept His people once again.

As he contemplates the future of his people Jeremiah bursts forth into another lamentation. The knowledge of what will befall his people is compared to a hurt, a wound, a grief or sickness for which there is no cure. Jeremiah must simply live with his mental suffering (Jeremiah 10:19). The prophet compares Judah to a tent which has collapsed because the cords have been snapped or cut. Those who once occupied that tent have been taken into exile or else they are dead. No one remains to help raise up the national tent once again (Jeremiah 10:20). All of this calamity has come about because the shepherds, the political and religious leaders, have not sought the Lord. The word seek here is a technical word meaning to inquire of, to seek an oracle from the Lord. Spurning divine revelation these leaders were making decisions which were most unwise. Jeremiah is probably alluding to the scheming, plotting and outright revolt against Babylon the superpower. Because of the policies of the national shepherds, the flock, the people of the land, were being scattered. Innocent people often suffer when national leaders spurn divine revelation. Even as he points this finger of accusation at the national leadership Jeremiah dramatically pauses and puts his hands to his ears. Hark! he cries. A report! He seems to hear rumors or reports of the dreaded enemy from the north. The earth itself seems to rumble to the cadence of marching feet. The Chaldeans are on the march. Jerusalem and indeed all the cities of Judah would shortly be desolation, inhabited by wild creatures.