Jer 13:24-27 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Jer 13:24-27: 13:24-27 The divine Judge decreed condemnation. 13:24 I will scatter you like chaff: This word-picture represented the exile of the people of Judah. Cp. Ps 1:4-5 .

Summary for Jer 13:24-27: 13:24-27 ^a The divine Judge decreed condemnation. 13:24 ^b I will scatter you like chaff: This word-picture represented the exile of the people of Judah. Cp. Ps 1:4-5 ^c.
13:25 ^d The people of Judah could not escape their assigned punishment. They had forgotten God and had turned to false gods.
13:26 ^e God allowed the Babylonians to strip Judah of all its treasures and take the people captive.
13:27 ^f Judah’s idol worship included ritual sex acts in the fields and on the hills. The Lord wanted his people to be spiritually and sexually pure in relation to him.

Thematic note: Prophetic Sign Acts
The prophets of Israel occasionally communicated through sign acts, which were dramatic visual aids performed in public to increase the impact of the message and help people feel the truth as much as hear it. Their purpose was to present an unforgettable message. These acts were unusual, even outlandish—and not just from a modern perspective. Unlike modern readers, however (who might think that the prophet was psychologically disturbed), ancient observers understood these sign acts as a regular part of a prophet’s communication style.
Ezekiel was required to act out his message more frequently than any other prophet, perhaps because he was communicating to a particularly hardened audience (Ezek 2:6-7 ^g). The sign acts reinforced the content of his message and underlined the depth of his personal commitment to it. For example, after he swallowed the word of God (2:8–3:3 ^h), Ezekiel embodied it for the exiles (3:4-9 ⁱ) in a series of judgment scenes (chs 4–6 ^j). This dramatic form of communication is difficult for even a hostile audience to ignore or forget.
The ultimate sign act was performed by Jesus Christ on the cross (see Matt 27:32-54 ^k). There God visibly depicted his wrath against sin in the darkness, the earthquake, and the agony of the sinless one who was apparently abandoned by his Father. God also depicted his profound love for the world in that he would rather die than let his people go. The cross is a confrontational message of God’s love and wrath that is hard to ignore or forget.

Passages for Further Study
Jer 13:1-11 ^l; 19:1-15 ^m; 25:15 ⁿ; Ezek 2:6–3:3 ^o; 3:4-9 ^p; 4:1-17 ^q; 5:1–6:14 ^r; 12:1-28 ^s; 21:19-23 ^t; 24:1-14 ^u, 16-27 ^v; 37:15-28 ^w; Hos 1:2-9 ^x; 3:1-3 ^y; Matt 26:26-28 ^z; 27:45-54 ^aa; Mark 6:11 ^ab; 11:12-21 ^ac; Luke 22:17-20 ^ad; Rom 6:3-5 ^ae; 1 Cor 10:16-17 ^af; 11:23-32 ^ag