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.