THEY LIVE IN DECEPTION

Passage: Jeremiah 8:4-9:6

Key verse: 8:9

NIV

Sin and Punishment

4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?(A)
    When someone turns away,(B) do they not return?
5 Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;(C)
    they refuse to return.(D)
6 I have listened(E) attentively,
    but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent(F) of their wickedness,
    saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course(G)
    like a horse charging into battle.
7 Even the stork in the sky
    knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
    observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know(H)
    the requirements of the Lord.

8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise,
    for we have the law(I) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
    has handled it falsely?
9 The wise(J) will be put to shame;
    they will be dismayed(K) and trapped.(L)
Since they have rejected the word(M) of the Lord,
    what kind of wisdom(N) do they have?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.(O)
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;(P)
prophets(Q) and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.(R)
11 They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.(S)
12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame(T) at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when they are punished,(U)
says the Lord.(V)

13 “‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
    There will be no grapes on the vine.(W)
There will be no figs(X) on the tree,
    and their leaves will wither.(Y)
What I have given them
    will be taken(Z) from them.[a]’”

14 Why are we sitting here?
    Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities(AA)
    and perish there!
For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
    and given us poisoned water(AB) to drink,
    because we have sinned(AC) against him.
15 We hoped for peace(AD)
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.(AE)
16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses(AF)
    is heard from Dan;(AG)
at the neighing of their stallions
    the whole land trembles.(AH)
They have come to devour(AI)
    the land and everything in it,
    the city and all who live there.

17 “See, I will send venomous snakes(AJ) among you,
    vipers that cannot be charmed,(AK)
    and they will bite you,”
declares the Lord.

18 You who are my Comforter[b] in sorrow,
    my heart is faint(AL) within me.
19 Listen to the cry of my people
    from a land far away:(AM)
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
    Is her King(AN) no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused(AO) my anger with their images,
    with their worthless(AP) foreign idols?”(AQ)

20 “The harvest is past,
    the summer has ended,
    and we are not saved.”

21 Since my people are crushed,(AR) I am crushed;
    I mourn,(AS) and horror grips me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?(AT)
    Is there no physician(AU) there?
Why then is there no healing(AV)
    for the wound of my people?

9 [c]1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water
    and my eyes a fountain of tears!(AW)
I would weep(AX) day and night
    for the slain of my people.(AY)
2 Oh, that I had in the desert(AZ)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,(BA)
    a crowd of unfaithful(BB) people.

3 “They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;(BC)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph[d] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge(BD) me,”
declares the Lord.
4 “Beware of your friends;(BE)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.(BF)
For every one of them is a deceiver,[e](BG)
    and every friend a slanderer.(BH)
5 Friend deceives friend,(BI)
    and no one speaks the truth.(BJ)
They have taught their tongues to lie;(BK)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
6 You[f] live in the midst of deception;(BL)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes
  1. Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  2. Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
  4. Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
  5. Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
  6. Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Sin and Treachery

4 “You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
(A)When men fall, do they not rise again?
    If one turns away, does he not return?
5 Why then has this people (B)turned away
    in perpetual (C)backsliding?
(D)They hold fast to deceit;
    they refuse to return.
6 (E)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,
    (F)like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7 Even the stork in the heavens
    knows her times,
and (G)the turtledove, (H)swallow, and crane[a]
    keep the time of their coming,
(I)but my people know not
    the rules[b] of the Lord.

8 (J)“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 (K)The wise men shall be put to shame;
    they shall be dismayed (L)and taken;
behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
    so what wisdom is in them?
10 (M)Therefore I will give their wives to others
    and their fields to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
    everyone (N)is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest,
    everyone deals falsely.
11 They have healed (O)the wound of my people lightly,
    saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
    when there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
    No, (P)they were not at all ashamed;
    they did not know how to blush.
(Q)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 (R)no grapes on the vine,
    (S)nor figs on the fig tree;
(T)even the leaves are withered,
    and what I gave them has passed away from them.”[c]

14 Why do we sit still?
(U)Gather together; (V)let us go into the fortified cities
    and perish there,
for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
    and has (W)given us (X)poisoned water to drink,
    because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 (Y)We looked for peace, but no good came;
    for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

16 (Z)“The snorting of their horses is heard (AA)from Dan;
    at the sound of the neighing (AB)of their stallions
    (AC)the whole land quakes.
They come (AD)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 (AE)serpents,
    adders (AF)that cannot be charmed,
    (AG)and they shall bite you,”
declares the Lord.

Jeremiah Grieves for His People

18 My joy is gone; grief is upon me;[d]
    (AH)my heart is sick within me.
19 Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people
    from (AI)the length and breadth of the land:
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
    (AJ)Is her King not in her?”
(AK)“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 (AL)the daughter of my people is my heart wounded;
    (AM)I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.

22 Is there no (AN)balm in Gilead?
    Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of the daughter of my people
    not been restored?
9 [e] (AO)Oh that my head were waters,
    and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
    for the slain of (AP)the daughter of my people!
2 [f] 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 (AQ)adulterers,
    a company of (AR)treacherous men.
3 (AS)They bend their tongue like a bow;
    falsehood and not truth has grown strong[g] in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
    (AT)and they do not know me, declares the Lord.

4 (AU)Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
    and put no trust in any brother,
for every (AV)brother is a deceiver,
    and every neighbor (AW)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,
    (AX)they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.

Footnotes
  1. Jeremiah 8:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  2. Jeremiah 8:7 Or just decrees
  3. Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  4. Jeremiah 8:18 Compare Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  5. Jeremiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew
  6. Jeremiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew
  7. Jeremiah 9:3 Septuagint; Hebrew and not for truth they have grown strong
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

God asks rhetorical questions to his people so they would realize the foolishness of their unrepentant hearts. They were like ones who made a wrong turn and refused to return to the right path. They clung to deceit and acted as if nothing was wrong (4-6). They wanted to think they were wise with the law of the Lord, yet they refused to live by it and ended up being more foolish than the beasts who knew the seasons and their place (7,8). As a result, they would understand that their seasons of blessings are gone only when it is too late (20).

Jeremiah was grieved to see their deceitfulness and insincerity, knowing the judgment coming their way (21,22). In chapter 9, he further expresses his distress and sorrow. He was so disappointed in them and wanted to drive them away (2), yet he shed a fountain of tears for the suffering they would go through (1). Jeremiah’s shepherd's heart represents that of our Father God. As a loving Father, his heart is grieved to see his children stubbornly insist on living the way of sin and deception that would lead them to destruction. Have you stepped away from the right path? Would you get up and turn to the right path accepting the Father’s word today?

Prayer: Father, thank you for giving me the desire to live by your word. Please help me not to cling to my idea and humbly accept your correction.

One Word: Come out of deception.