Jeremiah 6:1

The Bible says in Jeremiah 6:1-4, “O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction. I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.” In this description of the destruction that would come upon Jerusalem, the Lord said in Jeremiah 6:2, “I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.” This symbolism of Israel to a “comely and delicate woman” is used by God here. It refers to how vulnerable the nation of Israel had become, and how defenseless they would be in the face of the marauding armies that would come against them. Of course, 2,500 years ago combat involved much hand-to-hand fighting. In such fighting a delicate woman would be an easy target and a quick casualty. One of the reasons that women have so much more opportunity now than they did over much of the history of the human race is because most things no longer require the brute force of a man like they once did. Even wars can be fought by pushing buttons and pulling triggers. Of course, women can do such things as well as men. But 2,500 years ago a delicate woman would be crushed by a soldier from an invading army.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 6:5-6, “Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces. For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.” Verse five is the voice of the marauding armies who would come against Israel. They had a desire and a plan and an intention with their eyes set on Israel. Why? The answer is found in the next verse. The Lord allowed it to happen that way. Notice what the Lord said to those marauding armies in Jeremiah 6:6, “For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.” God is in control. God lifts up and casts down. God decides. He even decides what the wicked do. One of the things this means is that you had better look to the Lord Jesus for salvation of any kind: the salvation of your soul as well as protection from your enemies. This also means that if you trust in the Lord that whatever happens will work out for your good because the Lord is in control, just as it says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 6:7-11, “As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets. To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.”

There are two items of symbolism found in these verses: a fountain is used in verse 7, and the gathering of grapes in verse 9. Usually these two things, a fountain and the gathering of grapes, are used for some kind of positive symbolism; but not in these verses. Israel had become so sinful and so corrupt, even that which is normally positive could only be seen in a negative light. Most fountains are the source of refreshing and life-giving water, but not the fountain that the Israelites were producing. This was a fountain that was continually producing “wickedness.” Notice that the wickedness is described with two words: “violence and spoil.” Both of these words refer to having a hard heart in regards to one’s fellow-man. The more wicked that a society becomes, usually the more violent it becomes also. This was certainly the case with Israel in the days of Jeremiah. Violence against one’s neighbor is associated with taking “spoil” of one’s neighbor. Taking spoil from one’s neighbor refers to cheating or stealing or in some deceitful way profiting from others. Those are the things that wicked people do because a wicked person is a self-centered person who does not care about others. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is to love thy neighbor as thyself.

Another fact that showed how wicked were the children of Israel was that they did not want to hear the Word of God. It says in Jeremiah 6:10, “behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” The greatest book in the world is the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word. The Bible is God’s love story to mankind. The Bible teaches us the wonderful truths about Christ our Savior, and all that He has done for us, and all that He will do for us. We should delight ourselves in the Word of God because of all that it can do in instructing is, and teaching us, and encouraging us. Israel in the day of Jeremiah became a country that not only did not delight in the Word of the Lord, but also it says, “the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach.” Once again we see the same spiritual disaster coming to America and to other nations of the world. Those who commit similar sins that Israel committed will have similar consequences. This great effort that has been made to discredit the Bible and to keep the Bible out of schools is leading society down the same road that the Israelites went down.

The consequence of not having delight in the Word of God and reproaching the Word of God is found in Jeremiah 6:11, “Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD.” God’s plan for the world has a lot to do with His plan to give the world His Word. No small effort has gone into giving us His Word. Holy men of God were prepared their entire lives to be the conduits through which God would give His Word. This process took place 66 times. After the Word was written down it was then preserved from generation to generation. God has given His written Word, and He has preserved it. Woe to those who have the opportunity to learn His Word and be blessed by it, but who end up reproaching the Word of God. Such sins will end in judgment. To emphasize how great the destruction would be on Israel, Jeremiah 6:11 tells us that absolutely everyone in the nation would be affected by the coming destruction: the children, the young men, the husband with the wife, and “the aged with him that is full of days.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 6:12, “And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.” This spiritual truth has to do with the fact that opportunity is limited in nature. This is true in the practical world as well as the spiritual world. Take advantage of your opportunity while you have it, or risk losing the opportunity altogether. Jesus said in Luke 19:26, “For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.” Opportunity knocks once. God’s work shall be done. If you will not do it, then the chance to do it will be taken away from you and given to someone else.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 6:13-16, “For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” There are several things in this passage of scripture that shows how far the children of Israel had fallen. They were not ashamed of what they did. Do you see any similarities with our society? Are the people in Hollywood ashamed for the abominable sinfulness that they portrayed over and over on the silver screen?

Jeremiah 6:14 is an interesting verse that reveals the failure of the leaders of the children of Israel. It says, “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” The word “slightly” is the key to this verse. It means “to think lightly of” or “to dismiss as unimportant.” The message of God was that hurt and sorrow were coming upon the children of Israel. But the leaders had rejected that message and they had their own message. Basically the leaders were saying: “Don’t worry about that. That is no big deal. Everything is under control.” They were denying the truth of what was really going on, and what was going to happen more and more. They were saying, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” There were fightings without and fears within. There was war. There was turmoil. There were armies advancing upon them. It was a lie, and it was deception to cry, “Peace,” when there was no peace.

The leaders were telling the people the opposite of what was going on and what was really happening. Do you see any similarities with our society? Do the leaders say, “Do not worry about the devaluation of the dollar,” and “Do not worry about the millions who are unemployed,” and “Do not worry about the multi-trillion dollar deficits?” They are still saying, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” But God’s Word tells the truth and tells us all how to find true peace. God’s Word says in Jeremiah 6:16, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” The most important peace to have is the peace in your soul. It says in Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

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