8 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its 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 They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or buried; they will be as dung on the face of the ground. 3 And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the places to which I have driven them,” declares the Lord of hosts.
4 “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord,
“Do men fall and not get up again?
Does one turn away and not [a]repent?
5 “Why then has this people, Jerusalem,
Turned away in continual apostasy?
They hold fast to deceit,
They refuse to return.
6 “I have listened and heard,
They have spoken what is not right;
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his course,
Like a horse charging into the battle.
7 “Even the stork in the sky
Knows her seasons;
And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush
Observe the time of their [b]migration;
But My people do not know
The ordinance of the Lord.8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made it into a lie.
9 “The wise men are put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
And what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 “Therefore I will give their wives to others,
Their fields to [c]new owners;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is greedy for gain;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone practices deceit.
11 “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
12 “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They certainly were not ashamed,
And they did not know how to blush;
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time of their punishment they shall be brought down,”
Says the Lord.
We see a similar pattern in this passage to others before, where there the people seem oblivious to their sinful hearts. In v. 6 we see that no one repents, they just keep going along their “merry” way. Worse, in v. 8 the people say “We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us…” Right alongside that though, we see a clue, for the scribes (teachers and leaders) had made it (the law) into a lie.
Just as we’ve seen before, they were no longer concerned about repentance, and not really even about having their sin covered up. No, all they needed was to go through the ritual, and it would all be fine. Meanwhile, they were like horses charging into battle as they pursued their own lusts. There was no shame, they had forgotten how to even blush (v. 12).
So it is no surprise that when the priests and prophets said, “Peace, peace” that there was in fact no peace at all. Rather, there would be anything but peace as calamity would come, their land would be taken, their families destroyed, and many would not live to see the other side.
It’s in stark contrast to what Jesus told His followers, and I’ve mentioned it recently, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” He follows this up not long after with all the trouble they would face, and yet they would have peace.
The Israelites in Jeremiah’s day were promised peace by the false teachers, and would have none in the storm. But Jesus promised them, and us, that His peace would keep us even in the storm, and there will be storms. Right alongside Jesus’ message of peace was the promise of a Helper, that God’s Spirit would come and dwell within us.
It should be no surprise that one of the roles of the Spirit is that of comforter, and so we should be immensely thankful for such a gift. The Israelites did not have God’s Spirit dwelling among them, except on a rare few (possibly Jeremiah). Yet there is one other difference Jesus spoke of, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.” And that is essential for us today, especially in the world we live in.
Truthfully, I don’t know if it really is any worse than the day in which Jeremiah lived, but it sure sounds similar. Many things entice us, but we must cling fast to God’s Word and also listen to the voice of His Spirit that dwells inside us. We do not go it alone, and we should live that truth out daily–not trying to “go it alone” like some brave pioneer.
There’s a time for bravery, but tackling sin and evil by ourselves is foolishness. God has given us “everything we need for life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” Embrace it, embrace God and His ways, and make them your own so that you can know His peace, true peace, every step along the way.