The Lord asks for the return of Israel. The oath that follows indicates Israel’s sincere return to God and loyal adherence to him. “For the sake of the Lord be circumcised.” The mere external rite of circumcision means nothing unless accompanied by the removal of blindness and obstinacy of heart. Corruption in still universal. The people act as though God does not exist and will not interfere. O, you of little faith! There is great hope in that it seems that humankind turns to Yahweh. Yet, a nanosecond later, humans fall into old patterns of behavior and denial of the very existence of the Living God working in their lives. “Their quiver is like an open tomb” is one of the finest of Jeremiah’s figures of speech. This simile sets forth the sense of the deadliness of the enemies’ arrow. They are shot so rapidly that the enemies’ quivers are empty, and their emptiness brings death devoured by the open tomb. “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction.” More appalling is the fact that the “people love to have it so”! How often do we look at evil and “love to have it so!”?
The Lord asks for the return of Israel. The oath that follows indicates Israel’s sincere return to God and loyal adherence to him. “For the sake of the Lord be circumcised.” The mere external rite of circumcision means nothing unless accompanied by the removal of blindness and obstinacy of heart. Corruption in still universal. The people act as though God does not exist and will not interfere. O, you of little faith! There is great hope in that it seems that humankind turns to Yahweh. Yet, a nanosecond later, humans fall into old patterns of behavior and denial of the very existence of the Living God working in their lives. “Their quiver is like an open tomb” is one of the finest of Jeremiah’s figures of speech. This simile sets forth the sense of the deadliness of the enemies’ arrow. They are shot so rapidly that the enemies’ quivers are empty, and their emptiness brings death devoured by the open tomb. “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction.” More appalling is the fact that the “people love to have it so”! How often do we look at evil and “love to have it so!”?
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