Jeremiah 9:1-11--Jeremiah Grieves for His People

Jeremiah 9:1-11
English Standard Version

9 Oh that my head were waters,
    and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
    for the slain of the daughter of my people!
2 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 adulterers,
    a company of treacherous men.
3 They bend their tongue like a bow;
    falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
    and they do not know me, declares the LORD.

4 Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
    and put no trust in any brother,
for every brother is a deceiver,
    and every neighbor 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,
    they refuse to know me, declares the LORD.

7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts:
“Behold, I will refine them and test them,
    for what else can I do, because of my people?
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
    it speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor,
    but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD,
    and shall I not avenge myself
    on a nation such as this?

10 “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
    and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness,
because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
both the birds of the air and the beasts
    have fled and are gone.
11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
    a lair of jackals,
and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
    without inhabitant.”

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Jeremiah's lament is quite long, so I'm breaking it up over several days.  Here, he wishes that his tear ducts were supplied by enough water to fill his entire head so that his tears could flow like a fountain.  That he might weep day and night and have a source of tears that would never run dry.  I'm not sure if you've ever cried enough where there are no more tears left, but that's what is going on with Jeremiah.  Of course, he doesn't want to be around everyone that will see him sobbing and weeping, so he also desires to go somewhere deserted to mourn, though he has no such place to go to.

Why is he weeping?  Because all the people of Judah have cheated on God in the same way that an adulterous woman cheats on her husband (Israel is the woman in the covenant "marriage" relationship with the LORD--they are the Bride and He is the Bridegroom).  They are endangering themselves by entering into relationship with dangerous men (this probably refers to the other world views and religions that they have bound themselves to).

The people have learned to use their tongues as weapons to inflict harm and they commit all kinds of iniquities--a word used to describe when someone willfully sins.  They compound sin upon sin, lie upon lie.  They double and triple-down when the LORD calls them to repent.  They have gotten to the point where they hate the LORD as creatures of night hate the light.  The LORD will test them like testing a metal by fire and causing all their impurities to show.  Everyone will know what they are made of.  The LORD already knows, but it will become obvious to those who have been lying to themselves that they are not living as God's covenant people.  The LORD cannot let their sin go unpunished.

Jeremiah will continue his mourning and the LORD will mourn right along with Him because Jerusalem and all of Judah are going to have to be destroyed before the people will take God seriously.  God does not want to have to do this, but He knows He has to do this so that His people will come back to Him and listen to His voice. 

​We'll pick back up here next time.