Jeremiah 4:20

Jeremiah’s judgement messages explained how and why God’s people would be judged. These messages were like the judgement messages that Isaiah shared.

The work of being a prophet was very hard for Jeremiah. He wept and suffered with deep sadness and pain. Inside his own body he felt God’s anger like a burning fire. The people and leaders of the southern kingdom hadn’t been faithful to the Mount Sinai covenant. They didn’t obey the Ten Commandments. They didn’t treat others the way God taught them to in the Law of Moses. They treated needy people badly. They worshipped false gods instead of worshipping only God. They felt no shame about this. They expected God to continue blessing them. This showed that they not only spoke lies but also lived out lies. It showed that they had no sense or wisdom.

They hadn’t learnt from the example of the northern kingdom. They hadn’t learnt from times in the past when God brought judgement against them. Storks and other birds had more wisdom than God’s people did. God’s people didn’t serve him with all their heart. God described this as not being circumcised in their hearts. Their bodies were circumcised. So on the outside of their bodies they had the sign of God’s covenant. But the choices they made showed that they didn’t respect and honour God. This was true for both the people and the leaders of the southern kingdom. The kings, priests and prophets didn’t follow God’s example for rulers. They didn’t know God’s laws and didn’t lead the people in obeying God. They lied by saying that everything was going well and that the nation had peace. As a result of this, God would no longer stop the covenant curses from coming.

God longed to forgive his people. He wanted them to turn away from their sin, repent and follow him. But they refused. So God told Jeremiah to stop praying that God would have mercy on them. God would use the Babylonian army as his tool to judge the southern kingdom. The temple would be destroyed. The people would be thrown out of the land God had given them. God had warned Solomon about this judgement (1 Kings 9:6–9). Yet God promised that he wouldn’t destroy his people completely. He would always allow a few to remain alive. In this way God would remain faithful to his covenant with David.

God also gave Jeremiah messages of hope to share about a time in the future. God would live with his people and rule the world from Jerusalem as King. The northern and southern kingdoms would live together in their land as one kingdom again. God would return all nations to their own lands. Jews would teach other nations that God is the Lord who rules over all. Every nation would be invited to follow the practices God taught his people. Every people group that honoured God would become part of God’s people.