
Jeremiah 7:28-8:17
8:1-3 | As a mockery, God would allow this desecration – spreading the bones of the dead Jewish leaders before Judah’s “gods” (the sun, moon, and stars) which were of no help in time of need.
8:6-7 | Unlike birds, whose instincts guide them to know the seasons (appointed times) and fly in the right direction, the people did not have enough sense to discern the judgment of the LORD and treat it as a reason to repent and change their ways.
8:8-12 | The people did not know how to blush (had no shame) because they had rejected the word of the LORD. Rather than living faithfully and teaching truth, Israel’s spiritual leaders had healed the hurt of people slightly – the equivalent of putting a bandage on a deep, open wound.
8:13 | The Lord expected His people to produce fruit. True faith always expresses itself in actions (Matt. 21:19; Luke 13:6).
8:14-16 | In vain, Jeremiah urged the people to wake up to what was happening. Already God’s judgment was becoming apparent, but these warnings would be ignored.
8:17 | God’s picture of judgment here recalls the punishment of His people during the Exodus (Num. 21:6), when stinging vipers bit the wanderers and drove them to look upon the bronze serpent on a pole, an OT prefiguring of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross (John 3:14).