©Michael Player
Chapter 6:10-15 (ESV) - To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,
they cannot listen;
behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
Therefore I am full of the wrath of the LORD;
I am weary of holding it in.
“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
both husband and wife shall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”
declares the LORD.
“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the LORD.
Question to consider: Have you ever experienced a time in which you have tried to advise someone who is not willing to listen?
From the tone of the text, we get the impression that Jeremiah has been crying for the repentance of all of the priests and prophets he knows, but his warnings have fallen on deaf and uncircumcised ears. In the middle of the last chapter, the LORD announced that He would make the words coming out of Jeremiah’s mouth a fire. But what good is such a warning if the people are incapable of hearing because they treat the word of the LORD as an object of scorn?
Thus, the LORD said He would pour out His wrath upon young and old, rich and poor. Everyone, whether they had a lot or a little, was overcome with greed and sought unjust gain. Those who were supposed to shepherd the people, dealt falsely with them. As the reader, we can recognize the wickedness of those prophets who reassured the people that they were at peace with the LORD because we know the history of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and what it would mean for Judah.
Once Jeremiah called out the fiery truth of God’s judgment, the prophets should have been ashamed of their false message, but they did not know how to blush. As James, the Bishop of the Jerusalem church and half-brother of Jesus, proclaimed, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1) The LORD had a specific word of judgment for the false prophets that they would not survive this invasion.
We live in a time where false prophets and priests proclaim peace and approval to those who have built their entire identity around their sin. Those who are willing to proclaim the truth of God’s word are marginalized, and the word of God is treated as an object of scorn. Everything that God has called good has been questioned and mocked, even in light of thousands of years of history and evidence to support it. How much more can we expect judgment to come when the object of their scorn is the very Son of God who suffered and died to pay for the sins of the world?
Regardless of whether someone will openly admit to it, we know deep down that we all fall short of the glory of God. If our reaction is to ridicule God’s only begotten Son, how can we think that any of our attempts at good works can be pleasing to Him?
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for Your willingness to suffer through our constant foray into sin until we have become Your children rather than Your enemies. Help us to boldly proclaim, "Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins," to a world of uncircumcised ears. Amen.