The Folly of Refusing God
Jeremiah 8

Lesson 8

background notes

doctrinal / teaching points

1.  Judgment follows a refusal to turn back.

2.  Judgment follows a refusal to produce fruit.

3.  Judgment follows a refusal to accept healing.

practical application

Get saved before the harvest!

questions

1. When the Babylonian invasion came, what was the one action their army would take which demonstrated their extreme contempt for the Jewish people?
2. What was the ironic connection between this predicted action of the Babylonian army  and the false worship that had taken place for so long among the people of Judah?   
3. Jeremiah declared that Judah was without wisdom and truth.  What was the reason for this sad condition?
4. What indication do we have in this chapter of the proximity of the invading Babylonian forces?
5. What reaction does Jeremiah have to the impending judgment of his people?

answers

1. The Babylonians would desecrate the graves of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, including those of the kings, princes, priests and prophets.  This included digging up the graves and exposing the bones of the dead.
2. The desecration of the graves and spreading of the bones of the dead before the sun  and moon was ironic because these were the very astral bodies these dead people  had worshipped as part of their idolatry.  Worthless false gods they proved to be!
3. Jeremiah, in verses 8 and 9, declares that because Judah had rejected the word of the Lord, wisdom and truth would not be theirs.
4. Reading in verse 16 that “The snorting of His horses was heard from Dan”, indicates that the invading Babylonian forces were approaching the city of Dan, which was within the northern kingdom.
5. Jeremiah mourned.  The depth of his sorrow is well expressed in verses 18 through 20, and he asks for a healing balm, the balm of Gilead . . . but it was too late.

discuss / consider

We see in this chapter that there came a point of disobedience and continual wickedness  on the part of the people beyond which there would be no repentance – only refusal. No prophetic warning(s) would shock the people into the reality of their coming judgment by God. The people only wanted to hear the false predictions of coming peace and believe them. Has there ever been a day and a place in which this situation is more clearly repeating itself?  So many people in our country are blind to the disobedience and wickedness in our midst and enjoy their own sins, and yet they cry out for the peace which is being falsely proclaimed and anticipated. Can judgment be far away?

challenge

God has declared through Jeremiah, that there comes a time when it is too late.  “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”  This statement indicated that it was too late for Judah to repent, and challenges each one today to consider that the day of God’s grace will not last forever.  Turn to Him now! Don’t wait until the harvest is past and find that it is too late for salvation from the consequences of sin.

memorize

• “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!” Jeremiah 8:20