Jeremiah 8:13-17 – Defiance causes despair

Jeremiah had shown that the calamitous outcome of the ancient people of Judah was a result of the kind of leaders they chose to listen to. What they became was shaped and influenced by what they heard from those false leaders. Unlike Jeremiah, many of the prophets and priests were carnal-minded and greedy for personal gain. Whereas Jeremiah’s message was in tune with God’s plan for His rebellious people. That’s the reason Jeremiah’s message was largely unpopular, and he had only very few friends.

In Jeremiah 8:13-17, we see a blend of the declaration of the judgment of God and the anguished lament of the people of Judah. Since they refused to heed Jeremiah’s message, only one thing awaited them - impending doom. In verse 13 God declared his judgment on them. They would be snatched away meaning they would be exiled. And their once fertile land would become unfruitful. There would be no grape on the vine, no fig on the fig tree, and the leaves of those trees would wither. Whatever fruitfulness of the past would fade away.

Then the anguish of the people was described in verses 14-17. Though they were forced to flee to the cities to seek refuge, they knew that only horror would be experienced. For God was sending his judgment and there was no way of escape. Because of their sin against Him, the judgment would be like drinking poisoned water. They had chosen to listen to the false prophets and waited for peace that did not come; for healing but only received terror. They even had to endure the horror of the enemies’ cavalry advancing from Dan. The sound of the thundering hoofs rumbling ever nearer like an earthquake would destroy the cities, the whole land, and all its inhabitants. And like the fiery serpent God had released on the people of Israel during Moses’ time, venomous serpents, and adders, that could not be charmed into harmlessness, would be released to bite them. In other words, there would be no escape from the judgment of these rebellious people.

Defiance is built by tolerating lies. It is usually a slow boil that perniciously and subtly influences us. It is said that a lie spoken a thousand times can seem like the truth. There is a need for us to be discerning so that we can distinguish between lies and truths. If not, we will be brought to a point where defiance will be cultivated to deny the truth leading to a despairing life. Choose obedience over defiance!