Jer 8 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Jer 8:1-2: 8:1-2 Scattering the bones of the dead was the ultimate act of contempt for a defeated nation. Jerusalem’s favorite pagan deities— the sun, moon, and stars —would be unable to prevent it from happening.

Summary for Jer 8:1-2: 8:1-2 ^a Scattering the bones of the dead was the ultimate act of contempt for a defeated nation. Jerusalem’s favorite pagan deities—the sun, moon, and stars—would be unable to prevent it from happening.
Summary for Jer 8:4-17: 8:4-17 ^b These three short poems were probably delivered during Jehoiakim’s reign.
Summary for Jer 8:4-7: 8:4-7 ^c These verses itemize the evidence of Judah’s sins. The people had fallen into idolatrous ritual sex and followed the ways of idol worship. They remained in their delusions because their minds and hearts were trapped by lies, a term that is often applied to idols (5:3 ^d, 6 ^e; 7:24 ^f; 9:6 ^g; Prov 24:16 ^h; Isa 44:20 ⁱ; Amos 5:2 ^j; Mic 7:8 ^k).
8:6 ^l The Lord, who can listen to everything (cp. Luke 12:3 ^m), heard the people even when they talked in private. Not a word correlated with reality, and no one was sorry for doing wrong. Like a horse galloping into battle with no thought of death or danger, they did not consider the consequences of their sins.
8:7 ⁿ stork ... turtledove ... swallow ... crane: The Creator gave certain birds the ability to navigate the sky from summer nesting places to winter feeding grounds, and they always follow those instincts precisely. By contrast, the people of Israel ignored God’s revelations and the covenant laws he had established.
Summary for Jer 8:8-13: 8:8-13 ^o The people protested God’s judgment because they possessed the word of the Lord. God condemned them because they did not put his word into practice (cp. Matt 7:26 ^p; Jas 1:22-25 ^q). 8:8 ^r The teachers, highly valued in the government and in the Temple, included priests and non-priestly Levites. They were experts in explaining the Sinai covenant, and they were honored for their knowledge of covenant doctrine and the fine points of the legal system related to it. Now they were promoting the pagan viewpoints of King Jehoiakim and his officials as an updated word of the Lord (cp. study note on 2:23). The Lord called these new doctrines lies.
Summary for Jer 8:9-10: 8:9-10 ^s The phrase wise teachers is sarcastic—the Lord called their teachings foolishness and exposed their motivation as greed (cp. Job 28:28 ^t). This sin ruled the lives of the prophets and priests, making all of them frauds.
Summary for Jer 8:10-12: 8:10-12 ^u These verses repeat 6:13-15 ^v.
8:13 ^w Having presented the evidence (see study note on 8:4-7), the Lord now decreed the punishment of the elite sinners. They would be consumed, along with the land’s produce.

• I, the Lord, have spoken: The Lord placed his authority behind his decree.
Summary for Jer 8:14-15: 8:14-15 ^x These people had heard Jeremiah publicly deliver the decree of the Lord; they now realized that they deserved their punishment because they had sinned against the Lord. Though their doom was sealed, they still did not seek forgiveness for their sins.
8:16 ^y See 6:22-23 ^z.
Summary for Jer 8:18-9:26: 8:18–9:26 ^aa The priests in the Temple expertly memorized and repeated carefully crafted prayers as rituals in the Temple worship. Repeating the precise wording of the prayers was thought to be very important; failure to do so drained the prayers of their perceived magical power. The character of the priests who uttered the prayers was considered of minor importance. The same was true of lamentations. In contrast, Jeremiah’s prayers and lamentations were spontaneous and occupied him to the depths of his being.
8:20 ^ab Instead of confessing their sin, the people surrendered to despair. The harvest time of their salvation was gone and they were not saved.
Summary for Jer 8:21-22: 8:21-22 ^ac Jeremiah empathized with the suffering of his people. The closeness between the Lord and his prophet means that sometimes the first-person pronouns refer to the Lord as well—the Lord also hurts with the hurt of his people (cp. Matt 23:37 ^ad).
8:22 ^ae The medicine in Gilead consisted of sticky sap that oozed from cuts made in the trunks or branches of small evergreen trees in the highlands east of the Jordan River. Merchants who sold this resin to the people claimed that it had healing powers.

• Jeremiah saw the people’s need for God to heal their deep spiritual sickness. The people saw only the physical manifestations of God’s judgment against them and refused to acknowledge that their spiritual rebellion was the source of their problems. The African-American spiritual “There Is a Balm in Gilead” points to Jesus as the ultimate balm for our souls.