Jeremiah 8:13-17

C. Unavoidable Punishment at the Hand of God Jeremiah 8:13-17

TRANSLATION

(13) I will utterly consume them (oracle of the LORD). No grapes are on the vine and no figs are on the fig tree. The leaves are withered; and I will appoint for them those who overrun them. (14) Why are we sitting? Assemble yourselves that we may go unto the fortified cities that we may perish there; for the-LORD our God has put us to silence and has caused us to drink poison water because we have sinned against the LORD. (15) We hope for peace but no good came, for the time of healing, but behold, terror. (16) From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses; from the sound of the neighing of his stallions, all the earth shakes. For they shall come and shall consume the land and its fullness, the cities and their inhabitants. (17) For behold, I am about to send against you serpents, poisonous snakes, for which there is no charmer; and they shall bite you (oracle of the LORD).

COMMENTS

In Jeremiah 2:21 Judah is compared to a vine with bad grapes. In the present figure no fruit at all can be found on the vine or on the fig tree. The leaves are even withered. The plant is dying; it is worthless; it must be destroyed. God has already appointed the destroyer. An army shall sweep through that worthless garden like a raging stream overflowing its banks (Jeremiah 8:13).[187] All will be destroyed.

[187] On the phrase those who overrun see Isaiah 8:7; Daniel 11:10; Daniel 11:40.

Resorting to one of his favorite rhetorical devices Jeremiah projects himself into the future to dramatically portray what will happen when Judah comes under enemy attack. The inhabitants of the countryside in gloomy despair urge one another to move into the fortified cities. They feel they are under the curse of God, that they shortly will perish (lit., be put to silence). They are resigned to death. If they move to the cities they will die of some pestilence or plague. But at least that is better than falling into the hand of the enemy. They knew that God was making them drink of the poisonous water of divine judgment. They admit now that it is too late that they have sinned against the Lord (Jeremiah 8:14). They had listened to their false prophets and consequently they had expected peace and national healing. But good times did not come; only the terrors of ruthless war.

Jeremiah must have been a spellbinding preacher. He makes his audience almost hear the snorting and neighing of the enemy horses as the Chaldean calvary bears down upon Dan, the northern-most city of Palestine. All the known world trembles at the news that the mighty northern enemy is sweeping southward. The land and its produce, the cities and their inhabitants will be consumed by this mighty army (Jeremiah 8:16). Like venomous serpents the enemy will sink their death-dealing fangs into the inhabitants of Judah. No one will be able to charm those snakes; no one will be able to control them (Jeremiah 8:17). The doom is unavoidable.