21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”— 22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”
Jeremiah 11:21-23
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The Plot Against the Prophet
The Lord reveals a chilling truth to Jeremiah: those closest to him seek his life. The men of Anathoth, his own people, reject the Word he proclaims and conspire to silence him. This is not merely personal betrayal; it is rebellion against the Lord Himself and His saving Word. Here we see the cost of faithful proclamation. God’s Word does not leave sinners comfortable; it exposes, convicts, and calls to repentance. For this, Jeremiah suffers. Yet he is not abandoned. The Lord promises judgment against those who reject His Word. This points us to Christ, the greater Prophet, who was also rejected by His own and plotted against unto death. Yet through His cross, the very rejection of sinners becomes the means of salvation. In Him, we find mercy. Though the world may rage against the Word, Christ crucified remains our refuge and peace.
 

18          The Lord made it known to me and I knew;
then you showed me their deeds.
            19          But I was like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
                        I did not know it was against me
they devised schemes, saying,
                        “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
that his name be remembered no more.”
            20          But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,
who tests the heart and the mind,
                        let me see your vengeance upon them,
For to you have I committed my cause.
Jeremiah 11:19-20
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The Lamb Who Knows
Jeremiah speaks as one led like a gentle lamb to the slaughter, unaware of the schemes against him. We see both his innocence and the shocking betrayal he suffers at the hands of his own people highlighted. Yet Jeremiah’s suffering is not merely personal; it is prophetic. It points us forward to Christ. For our Lord Jesus is the true Lamb, not merely threatened but delivered over to death. Unlike Jeremiah, He fully knew the plans laid against Him, yet He went willingly. He entrusted Himself to the Father who judges righteously. So too for you. When you are sinned against, misunderstood, or quietly opposed, you are not alone. Your life is hidden in Christ. The same Lord who sees all hearts vindicates His people, not always in the moment, but decisively at the cross. There, judgment and mercy meet. And there, you are declared righteous for Jesus’ sake.

9 Again the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal.
14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The Lord once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”
Jeremiah 11:9-17
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A Conspiracy Against the Lord
The Lord reveals to Jeremiah a hidden conspiracy, His own people turning from Him to chase after false gods. This is no small lapse but covenantal rebellion. Judah’s sin is not merely ignorance but willful rejection of the Lord who had graciously bound Himself to them. Therefore, judgment comes: the olive tree once green and fruitful will be consumed. Yet this passage also exposes the deeper problem, the sinful heart that plots against God. We see ourselves here. Left to our own devices, we too wander, fashioning idols of comfort, control, and self-righteousness. But where we conspire, Christ is conspired against. The plotting of sinners reaches its climax at the cross, where Jesus is betrayed and condemned. There, He bears the full weight of our covenant-breaking. In Him, judgment falls, and mercy flows. Repent, and trust in the One who restores what we have destroyed.

11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”
6 And the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”
Jeremiah 11:1-8
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The Broken Covenant and the Faithful Christ
The Lord’s words through Jeremiah expose a painful truth: His people have heard His covenant, yet they have not obeyed it. From the beginning, God’s covenant was clear: He would be their God, and they would be His people, but it called for faithful hearing and obedience. Instead, they walked in stubbornness, breaking what God had graciously established. This covenant failure is not merely Israel’s story; it is ours. We, too, hear God’s Word and fail to keep it. The Law reveals this not to crush us without hope, but to show our need. Here, the cross of Christ shines. Where Israel failed and where we fail, Christ fulfills. He is the obedient Son who keeps the covenant perfectly. And then He bears the curse of our disobedience in His crucifixion. In Him, the broken covenant is restored, not by our faithfulness, but by His.

22          A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—
a great commotion out of the north country
                        to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a lair of jackals.
            23          I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
            24          Correct me, O Lord, but in justice;
not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
            25          Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,
and on the peoples that call not on your name,
                        for they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.
Jeremiah 10:22-25
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Disciplined, Not Destroyed
The prophet hears the rumor of judgment drawing near, and it is terrifying. The land will be laid waste because of Judah’s persistent idolatry. Yet in the midst of this dread, a remarkable prayer rises: that the Lord would correct His people, but in justice, not in wrath that brings them to nothing. This is the cry of faith. The believer does not deny sin or its consequences. Rather, he confesses that apart from the Lord’s mercy, judgment would consume him entirely. God’s discipline is not for destruction but for restoration. He chastens as a Father, not as an executioner. This prayer finds its answer in the cross of Christ. There, God’s wrath against sin is fully poured out, not on His people, but on His Son. In Jesus, we are corrected, yet not destroyed; humbled, yet not forsaken. Thus we pray: Lord, discipline us, and keep us in Your mercy.

19          Woe is me because of my hurt!
My wound is grievous.
                        But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
and I must bear it.”
            20          My tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
                        my children have gone from me,
and they are not;
                        there is no one to spread my tent again
and to set up my curtains.
            21          For the shepherds are stupid
and do not inquire of the Lord;
                        therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flock is scattered.
Jeremiah 10:19-21
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Wounded, Yet Not Forsaken
There is a raw honesty in Jeremiah’s lament. The prophet speaks as one wounded beyond healing, bearing the weight of a people scattered and shepherds who have failed them. This suffering is not merely personal; it reflects the devastation brought by false leadership and rejection of the Lord’s Word. When shepherds seek themselves instead of the Lord, the flock is scattered. Yet this cry of grief does not fall into emptiness. It echoes forward to Christ, the true Shepherd, who takes upon Himself the wound of His people. On the cross, He bears not only our sin but also the failure of all false shepherds. He is struck so that the sheep may be gathered. In our own sorrow and the brokenness of the Church, we are not abandoned. The crucified Christ gathers, heals, and restores. Our wounds find their answer in His.

11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
12 It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13 When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
14 Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
17 Gather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who dwell under siege!
18 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
and I will bring distress on them,
that they may feel it.”
Jeremiah 10:11-18
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Gods That Perish
There is no god, but the living God. We make all kinds of things into gods. Anything that we put our fear, love, and trust in becomes a god. We look to things and people for good in this life. The false gods and idols that we create all perish. They fade and betray. They never can deliver. Yet, we still go back to them. We are tossed to and fro by the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. The living God cares for you. He follows through. He endures through all things. This is the God that knows what you need. He hears your cries for help and he comes down to deliver. He comes down in the flesh of Mary and dies on the cross to take away death. He bids you fear, love, and trust in him above all things. Jesus gives you all the good. He is your only Savior. In the midst of the world's siege, Jesus saves and sustains. He keeps you and nourishes you. He never fails and comes to you here in the midst of your need with exactly that which sustains you.

6 There is none like you, O Lord;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you.
8 They are both stupid and foolish;
the instruction of idols is but wood!
9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz.
They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is violet and purple;
they are all the work of skilled men.
10 But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
Jeremiah 10:6-10
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None Like Our God
There is not one like our God. He is great in all his works. His steadfast love endures forever and ever. He is merciful in the midst of our continual sin and rebellion. We keep going back to our false gods and fearing things created by human hands. We cower at the world and arrogantly walk away from the living God. But the Lord is the true God and he will not have you dwell in the darkness of your sin. He rescues us. His mercy is seen in the gift of a Son that goes to the cross for you. The Almighty and Everlasting God that created the heavens and the earth enters into Jerusalem humble and lowly. He rides on a beast of burden as he becomes the place for the whole world's burden. He takes our sin from us. He who knew no sin become sin so that he might save and give life where there is only death. This King of the nations dies and rises again to win you as his own. There is none like our God.

10 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord:
“Learn not the way of the nations,
nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
because the nations are dismayed at them,
3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity.
A tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5 Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”
Jeremiah 10:1-5
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Like Scarecrows
Our God is a jealous God. He shares our fear, love, and trust with no one. Yet, we rebel against his Word and turn away from him. It is our nature to put our fear and love in things and call upon them in unfounded trust. Sometimes those idols are made of silver and gold. They are fashioned by human hands out of the created things of this world. Sometimes we put our trust in money, jobs, position, or power. We fear losing what we have or being treated a certain way. We don't trust in the living God. His wrath is kindled against us. But there is One that stops his wrath. Jesus comes that he might rescue us from our false worship. He offers his own body on the cross to establish a right spirit within you. He gives you a new heart and upholds you by his free Holy Spirit. Those that worship idols become like them, dead Scarecrows, standing lonely in a field. The living God calls you back to life and light. Return to the Lord your God. He has done good. His blood has covered your sin.

23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” 25 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”
Jeremiah 9:23-26
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Boast In The Lord
Only the Lord practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. Our works are all tainted with rebellion, selfishness, and division. The human heart veils itself in outward appearances, but inwardly, it is a dark and ravenous hole. Fallen man is lost even as we set out running away from God and his Word. Our hearts of stone need to be removed and new hearts of flesh, temples of the Holy Spirit, need to be built by our God. Only when he comes to us, calls us, enlightens us, and keeps us does this happen. So it is that the living God has called us with his very Word and granted to us the gifts of the cross. Forgiveness and life and salvation are ours by the work of Jesus for you. Our hearts have been changed out. We are clothed in heavenly garments of righteousness. 

20 Hear, O women, the word of the Lord,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a lament,
and each to her neighbor a dirge.
21 For death has come up into our windows;
it has entered our palaces,
cutting off the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.
22 Speak: “Thus declares the Lord,
‘The dead bodies of men shall fall
like dung upon the open field,
like sheaves after the reaper,
and none shall gather them.’”
Jeremiah 9:20-22
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Death Has Come
Our sin has caused death to rise up to meet us. There is not one that is good. No, not one of us. Everything evil that we do not want to do, we do. Sin has entered into our homes and into our children's lives. The devil wants it all in ruin. Jesus takes death head on. He comes into the world to meet death for you and me and destroy it. Through Jesus, though every man die, yet shall he live. Though there is no escaping death and all will die, Jesus changes death into a portal to life forever with him. Sin has caused our death. Jesus has won our life. He freely gives it to us. 

17 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
send for the skillful women to come;
18 let them make haste and raise a wailing over us,
that our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
‘How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our dwellings.’”
Jeremiah 9:17-19
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Ruined
Our sin is a cause for weeping. We have rebelled against our God and despised his gifts. Our thoughts, words, and deeds have brought ruin to us. We weep over the destruction we have caused. There is One other who weeps for us. He is Christ the Lord. He knows that we cannot rebuild. He knows that we will not return to the Lord on our own. We must be sought out and rescued. We must be found and made new. Jesus goes to the cross to die for you and me. He offers up his life so that our life would be spared. Jesus' love for you is great. He offers up his life and dies in disgrace to have you back. What we have ruined, God has made new in Jesus. Our shame is washed away in the blood of Jesus. He rises to life again to share it with you. Now he builds dwellings in heaven for you. Thanks be to God. 

12 Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13 And the Lord says: “Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, 14 but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink. 16 I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.”
Jeremiah 9:12-16
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Scattered
Man depends upon his own strength instead of depending fulling on God. Man looks inward instead of looking to the Lord for everything he needs in this body and life. Like the people at the Tower of Babel, we want to make a name for ourselves. Like the people at the Tower of Babel, God scatters and stops the construction that we might fix our eyes on him instead. Unless the Lord build the house, it is built in vain. Only in Christ are the scattered brought near again. So, God sends his Son into our flesh to rescue and make new. He is born under the Law in order to save everyone under the Law. He keeps the commandments of God perfectly and suffers the punishment of our rebellion completely. When Jesus is crucified, he draws the scattered, he draws all men to himself. We rejoice in his good gifts and his love that never ends.

7           Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
                        “Behold, I will refine them and test them,
for what else can I do, because of my people?
            8           Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully;
                        with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor,
but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.
            9           Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
            10          “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness,
                        because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
                        both the birds of the air and the beasts
have fled and are gone.
            11          I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a lair of jackals,
                        and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
without inhabitant.”
Jeremiah 9:7-11
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Refined by the Lord
The Lord speaks through Jeremiah with the language of a refiner’s fire. Because of Judah’s deceit and unrepentant sin, God declares that He will refine and test His people. This refining is not meaningless destruction but the Lord’s righteous response to sin and His call to repentance. Sin corrodes relationships, people deceive their neighbors and refuse to know the Lord. Such corruption brings judgment and leaves even the land desolate. Yet the Lord’s refining fire ultimately points us to the cross. On our own, we cannot pass the test. Our hearts are just as prone to deceit and wandering. But Christ entered the fire of God’s judgment in our place. At the cross, He bore the punishment our sin deserved so that we might be forgiven. Through Word and Sacrament, the Lord now refines us in mercy, leading us to repentance and faith. In Christ, the refining fire becomes the fire of salvation.

4           Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
and put no trust in any brother,
                        for every brother is a deceiver,
and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.
            5           Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
                        they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
            6           Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:4-6
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Truth at the Cross
Jeremiah exposes a people who live by deception. Neighbor betrays neighbor, speech becomes a weapon, and hearts refuse the knowledge of the Lord. Sin is not merely an occasional mistake; it becomes a practiced way of life. Judah’s constant deceit shows how deeply corruption has taken root among God’s people. Lies flourish where the fear of the Lord is forgotten. Yet the Lord does not answer human deceit with more deception. Instead He answers with truth revealed in the cross of Christ. There the sin we hide is exposed, and the judgment we deserve falls on His Son. The cross unmasks our lies and creates repentance through the Spirit. In Christ we learn again to know the Lord, who forgives sinners and forms a people who speak truth in His mercy. Because His grace frees our tongues and hearts to live honestly before God.

22          Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
                        Why then has the health of the daughter of my people
not been restored?
9 Oh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
                        that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!
            2           Oh that I had in the desert
a travelers’ lodging place,
                        that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
                        For they are all adulterers,
a company of treacherous men.
            3           They bend their tongue like a bow;
falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land;
                        for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they do not know me, declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 8:22-9:3
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Is There No Balm?
In Jeremiah’s day the prophet looks over a wounded people and asks why healing has not come. The Lord had sent His Word through the prophets again and again, yet the people preferred lies, idolatry, and false peace. Their sickness was not merely political or cultural. It was sin, a disease of the heart. Jeremiah grieves because the people refuse the medicine God provides. The same sickness still marks the world and our own hearts. We chase our own wisdom and trust voices that promise peace apart from repentance. Yet Jeremiah’s cry points us forward. There truly is a balm for the wounded sinner. It is found not in human wisdom but in the crucified Christ. On the cross Jesus bears the infection of our sin and pours out the healing of forgiveness. Where the Word of Christ is preached, the Great Physician is present, binding wounds and giving life.
           

18          My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
my heart is sick within me.
            19          Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people
from the length and breadth of the land:
                        “Is the Lord not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
                        “Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images
and with their foreign idols?”
            20          “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
            21          For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded;
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
Jeremiah 8:18-21
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The Wound of Sin and the Healing of Christ
Jeremiah’s words ache with sorrow. The prophet grieves over the spiritual sickness of God’s people. Their sin has wounded them deeply, and their refusal to repent has brought devastation. Jeremiah does not speak as a distant observer. He feels the pain of the people and mourns the destruction that their rebellion has caused. The prophet’s lament reflects both the suffering of Judah and the grief of one who loves them. Yet Jeremiah’s sorrow points us forward to a greater grief. Centuries later, Jesus would weep over Jerusalem, mourning a people who rejected the salvation He came to bring. Our sin is the true wound, one we cannot heal ourselves. But Christ has entered into our suffering. On the cross He bore the sickness of our sin and the judgment we deserved. By His wounds we are healed. In Him, God does not abandon the broken but restores them through forgiveness and life.

16          “The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan;
at the sound of the neighing of their stallions
the whole land quakes.
                        They come and devour the land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
            17          For behold, I am sending among you serpents,
adders that cannot be charmed,
and they shall bite you,”
declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 8:16-17
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The Hiss of Judgment, the Promise of the Cross
In Jeremiah’s day, the warning signs of judgment were already being heard. The enemy approached like the snorting of war horses and the hissing of serpents.  These images emphasize the terrifying certainty of God’s judgment against persistent unbelief. Israel had rejected the Lord’s Word, trusted in false security, and refused to repent. The approaching disaster was not random, it was the consequence of turning away from the God who had called them to Himself. Yet even in such fearful warnings, the Lord’s purpose is not merely destruction but repentance. The Law exposes sin and shows us the deadly bite of our rebellion. Like venomous serpents, our sin brings death. But the Lord did not leave His people without hope. Christ took the judgment we deserved upon Himself at the cross. There the venom of sin was spent on Him. Through His death and resurrection, the poison of judgment is overcome, and sinners receive life instead of death.

14          Why do we sit still?
                        Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities
and perish there,
                        for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
and has given us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.
            15          We looked for peace, but no good came;
for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
Jeremiah 8:14-15
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Bitter Medicine
Jeremiah speaks for a people who finally see the disaster their sin has brought. They gather in fear, waiting for help, but the help they expected never comes. Peace was promised by false prophets, yet the Lord allows judgment to expose the lie. Judah looked for healing while refusing the Lord’s call to repentance. We know that temptation too. We want comfort without confession, peace without repentance. Yet God sometimes lets the bitter taste of our sin remain so we stop trusting ourselves. The true healing Judah needed would come not through earthly rescue but through the cross of Christ. There the judgment we deserved fell on Him. When hope seems delayed, the cross teaches us where peace truly comes from: the crucified and risen Lord, who heals sinners with mercy instead of poison. Return to Him in repentance and receive His promised forgiveness.

4 “You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
When men fall, do they not rise again?
If one turns away, does he not return?
5 Why then has this people turned away
in perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit;
they refuse to return.
6 I have paid attention and listened,
but they have not spoken rightly;
no man relents of his evil,
saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turns to his own course,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7 Even the stork in the heavens
knows her times,
and the turtledove, swallow, and crane
keep the time of their coming,
but my people know not
the rules of the Lord.
Jeremiah 8:4-7
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What Have I Done?
It takes an intervention. God has to stop the perpetual backsliding. Our sinful hearts have no desire to stop. Our old Adam runs away from God. Like Jonah, we run for our own Nineveh. God sends his Holy Spirit to interrupt our voyage. He calls you with the good news that Jesus has died and rose again. He enlightens you by creating a clean heart and renewing a right spirit in you. This is the God that cares for you by rescuing you from the eternal flames of hell. This is the God that becomes One with you by taking on human flesh and suffering and dying for you. This is the God that rises victorious over death and the grave to live with you. This is Jesus who delights to be with you and to have you as his own. He stops the backsliding and the sin and the rebellion and walks with you in the Way.

8 “At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs. 2 And they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. And they shall not be gathered or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. 3 Death shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family in all the places where I have driven them, declares the Lord of hosts.
Jeremiah 8:1-3
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Not A Bone Shall Be Broken
Sin has caused this great wrath. The wages of sin is death. Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return. It is promised that the bones of the King shall be laid out in the open air. So, it is, the bones of the King of Kings are nailed to a tree and are made a curse for all the world to see. This King takes your place and offers instead his throne and life to you. He endures shame and ridicule for your life and salvation. Jesus takes your place, having kept the Law perfectly, he endures suffering, cross, and shame for you. No longer will death have any mastery over you. Jesus has conquered even death. Your enemies have been vanquished and your suffering was taken on by God himself. Thanks be to God for his love and grace.

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 shall be put to shame;
they shall be dismayed and taken;
                        behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
so what wisdom is in them?
            10          Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to conquerors,
                        because from the least to the greatest
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
                        from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
            11          They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
            12          Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
                        Therefore they shall fall among the fallen;
when I punish them, they shall be overthrown,
says the Lord.
            13          When I would gather them, declares the Lord,
there are no grapes on the vine,
nor figs on the fig tree;
                        even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.”
Jeremiah 8:8-13
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When Wisdom Becomes Foolishness
In Jeremiah’s day, the people believed themselves wise because they possessed the Law. Yet the Lord exposes a tragic truth: they had the Scriptures, but they twisted them. The scribes handled God’s Word, yet turned it into falsehood. Their supposed wisdom produced only deception, because they rejected the very Word they claimed to honor. The result was spiritual sickness. Prophets and priests cried “peace” when there was no peace. Sin was no longer shameful. Hearts grew hard, and the people no longer even knew how to blush. This warning still speaks today. It is possible to have the Bible and yet reject what it actually says. True wisdom is not possessing God’s Word outwardly but receiving it in repentance and faith. Where false teachers promise peace without repentance, Christ brings the real cure. At the cross, He bears our sin and shame. In Him, sinners find the true peace the world cannot manufacture.

30 “For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the Lord. They have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 31 And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. 32 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere. 33 And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away. 34 And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste.
Jeremiah 7:30-34
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Silence in the Cities
The Word of God breaks the silence. It is the only thing that rights wrongs and kills death and resurrects the sinner to righteousness. The Word of God is sent on the lips of God's servants, the prophets of old, the apostles, and the pastors in your pulpits. They are sent to speak to you this powerful and active Word. The worst thing, the saddest thing, the most jarring thing is when God closes his mouth and is silent. The silence is not only deafening, but it kills. Everything in that silence dies. You are sustained and nourished by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. In order to have you as his own, God needed to silence his Word. So he sent him into the creation as part of the creation to redeem sinners. He sent him under the Law to save those condemned by the Law. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and then that Word was crucified. The Word was silenced by the Father himself. But, God would not stay silent. Death could not keep his mouth contained. The Word shouted life and victory as it walked out of the tomb for you and me. The Word of God has broken your silence. It is the only thing that saves you. It has been written upon your forehead and your heart. You are Baptized into that Word forever.

27 “So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.
29 “‘Cut off your hair and cast it away;
raise a lamentation on the bare heights,
for the Lord has rejected and forsaken
the generation of his wrath.’
Jeremiah 7:27-30
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Truth Has Risen
The Word must be declared. They will not listen. The Son of Man must be rejected and handed over to the Gentiles, mocked, spit upon, and crucified. The Word of God is met with intolerance. They will not listen. The Lord commands, "You shall speak all these words to them." The sin of the world must be paid for. God keeps his promises. It is through the Word that salvation comes. It is this Word that must become flesh and dwell among us that will save us by dying. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Truth has perished and truth has risen again. He has risen for you. He paid for your sins with his blood and he claims you in the spoils. Wrath has been poured out on Jesus so that you would live. So the Holy Spirit changes unbelieving hearts and opens ears to hear and plants faith to believe the Word declared.

21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. 22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. 26 Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
Jeremiah 7:21-26
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You Are His People
The voice of the Lord God comes to his people. He delights in speaking to you and to his people of old. He sends forth his Word and it is a Word unlike any other word you have or ever will encounter. This Word performs. It always accomplishes what God sends it to do. Connect yourself to this Word. Listen to this Word. Read, mark, inwardly digest this Word. It is life changing and image shaking. When we fall back upon our own word and depend upon the things we find in this life or in our own hearts, we stumble and fall. We sever our connection to life and dwell in death and darkness. Yet, in our darkness, the Light of the World has come. He was born of Virgin Mary, suffered and died for us, and rose again for our justification. He is your light and your life. He has transformed you into God's people. He has made you like himself. You are princes and priests to your God. You live forever. You are his delight. God be praised for his love toward you.