Dealing With Deceit
February 11, 2020
Commentary
The prophet calls for his head to be an inexhaustible source of water, feeding his eyes with an unceasing supply of tears so that he might weep day and night over his people (v. 1). His message is one of judgment and impending doom. Even at the “assembly” for divinely appointed festivals, the deceivers were present. The sinfulness of the people was so bad that Jeremiah wanted to separate himself from them. He said it was better to be in a traveler’s hut in the desert with all its discomforts than to dwell with the breakers of the covenant in comfort (v. 2). He speaks out against the sins of the tongue: lies, slander, double dealing, deceit, etc. People used their tongue as an archer would use a bow as it became a weapon to shoot lies (v. 3). Honesty was not practiced by those living in Judah. A person had to watch his friends and no one could trust his brothers (vv. 4-5).
Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the Lord (v. 6). As the very fabric of society unraveled, no one would speak the truth. God answers Jeremiah by showing him that there is no alternative but divine judgment (vv. 7-9). God must place Judah in the crucible of judgment and deal with her deceit. Conventional wisdom could not explain the disaster which would befall Judah (vv. 10-11). This area would be left so desolate by the vengeance of God that the sounds of birds and cattle would no longer be heard (v. 10). Jerusalem and the other cities of the land would be left in ruins inhabited only by wild animals. Those who pretended to receive divine revelations had no word of explanation. Yahweh alone could answer the question “Why is the land ruined?”
Application
Jeremiah was angered by the sin of the people, but he also had compassion on them. He was set apart from them by his mission for God, but he was also one of them. This is the way it should be with me today. I need to hate sin, but love the sinner.
Jeremiah 9:1– 11 (NET)
1 (8:23) I wish that my head were a well full of water and my eyes were a fountain full of tears! If they were, I could cry day and night for those of my dear people who have been killed.
2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the wilderness where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. Then I would desert my people and walk away from them because they are all unfaithful to God, a congregation of people that has been disloyal to him.”
3 The Lord says, “These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows. Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. They have become powerful in the land, but they have not done so by honest means. Indeed, they do one evil thing after another and do not pay attention to me.
4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends. He must not even trust any of his relatives. For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. And all his friends will tell lies about him.
5 One friend deceives another and no one tells the truth. These people have trained themselves to tell lies. They do wrong and are unable to repent.
6 They do one act of violence after another, and one deceitful thing after another. They refuse to pay attention to me,” says the Lord.
7 Therefore the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will now purify them in the fires of affliction and test them. The wickedness of my dear people has left me no choice. What else can I do?
8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. They are always telling lies. Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths, but their minds are thinking up ways to trap them.
9 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord. “I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!”
10 I said, “I will weep and mourn for the grasslands on the mountains; I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness because they are so scorched no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard there. Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields have fled and are gone.”
11 The Lord said, “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. I will destroy the towns of Judah so that no one will be able to live in them.”