BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT LISTENED

Jeremiah 6:1-30 / Keywords 6:16

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'”

 

Jerusalem Under Siege

6:1 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!

    Flee from Jerusalem!

Sound the trumpet in Tekoa!

    Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!

For disaster looms out of the north,

    even terrible destruction.

2 I will destroy Daughter Zion,

    so beautiful and delicate.

3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;

    they will pitch their tents around her,

    each tending his own portion.”

4 “Prepare for battle against her!

    Arise, let us attack at noon!

But, alas, the daylight is fading,

    and the shadows of evening grow long.

5 So arise, let us attack at night

    and destroy her fortresses!”

6 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Cut down the trees

    and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.

This city must be punished;

    it is filled with oppression.

7 As a well pours out its water,

    so she pours out her wickedness.

Violence and destruction resound in her;

    her sickness and wounds are ever before me.

8 Take warning, Jerusalem,

    or I will turn away from you

and make your land desolate

    so no one can live in it.”

9 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Let them glean the remnant of Israel

    as thoroughly as a vine;

pass your hand over the branches again,

    like one gathering grapes.”

10 To whom can I speak and give warning?

    Who will listen to me?

Their ears are closed[a]

    so they cannot hear.

The word of the Lord is offensive to them;

    they find no pleasure in it.

11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,

    and I cannot hold it in.

“Pour it out on the children in the street

    and on the young men gathered together;

both husband and wife will be caught in it,

    and the old, those weighed down with years.

12 Their houses will be turned over to others,

    together with their fields and their wives,

when I stretch out my hand

    against those who live in the land,”

declares the Lord.

13 “From the least to the greatest,

    all are greedy for gain;

prophets and priests alike,

    all practice deceit.

14 They dress the wound of my people

    as though it were not serious.

‘Peace, peace,’ they say,

    when there is no peace.

15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?

    No, they have no shame at all;

    they do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall among the fallen;

    they will be brought down when I punish them,”

says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

    ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

    and you will find rest for your souls.

    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17 I appointed watchmen over you and said,

    ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

    But you said, ‘We will not listen.’

18 Therefore hear, you nations;

    you who are witnesses,

    observe what will happen to them.

19 Hear, you earth:

    I am bringing disaster on this people,

    the fruit of their schemes,

because they have not listened to my words

    and have rejected my law.

20 What do I care about incense from Sheba

    or sweet calamus from a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;

    your sacrifices do not please me.”

21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“I will put obstacles before this people.

    Parents and children alike will stumble over them;

    neighbors and friends will perish.”

22 This is what the Lord says:

“Look, an army is coming

    from the land of the north;

a great nation is being stirred up

    from the ends of the earth.

23 They are armed with bow and spear;

    they are cruel and show no mercy.

They sound like the roaring sea

    as they ride on their horses;

they come like men in battle formation

    to attack you, Daughter Zion.”

24 We have heard reports about them,

    and our hands hang limp.

Anguish has gripped us,

    pain like that of a woman in labor.

25 Do not go out to the fields

    or walk on the roads,

for the enemy has a sword,

    and there is terror on every side.

26 Put on sackcloth, my people,

    and roll in ashes;

mourn with bitter wailing

    as for an only son,

for suddenly the destroyer

    will come upon us.

27 “I have made you a tester of metals

    and my people the ore,

that you may observe

    and test their ways.

28 They are all hardened rebels,

    going about to slander.

They are bronze and iron;

    they all act corruptly.

29 The bellows blow fiercely

    to burn away the lead with fire,

but the refining goes on in vain;

    the wicked are not purged out.

30 They are called rejected silver,

    because the Lord has rejected them.”

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 6:10 Hebrew uncircumcised

1. Verse 1 starts with ‘Flee for safety.’ Disaster was coming to Jerusalem, carried by people who were ready to attack at any time. The beautiful city would be given to terrible destruction. As God brought judgment upon his children, he was also warning them to flee. However, Jeremiah also knew that people with closed ears would not listen (10). They were used to the priests and prophets who spoke what they liked to hear (13-15). As one who was bringing the word of God, Jeremiah could feel the wrath of God (11).

 

2. The Lord instructed them to find a good way to walk just as their forefathers had walked with God, but they refused (16). As they repeatedly disobeyed God’s will, they brought elaborate offerings that God did not care about (20) (1Sam 15:22).

 

3. God again warned them of the army coming from the north and their destruction. It was time for them to listen and sincerely repent of their sins (26). With their hearts stubborn and rebellious against God’s words, they would become rejected silver, impossible to refine (29).

 

Prayer Father, thank you for your gracious instructions through your word each day. Please help me to open my ears and listen so I can obey your will. Please purify my heart and take the wicked out of me.

One Word Listen to the word of God