Pack your bags and prepare to leave;
the siege is about to begin.
For this is what the LORD says:
“Suddenly, I will fling out
all you who live in this land.
I will pour great troubles upon you,
and at last you will feel my anger.”
My wound is severe,
and my grief is great.
My sickness is incurable,
but I must bear it.
My home is gone,
and no one is left to help me rebuild it.
My children have been taken away,
and I will never see them again.
The shepherds of my people have lost their senses.
They no longer seek wisdom from the LORD.
Therefore, they fail completely,
and their flocks are scattered.
Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies
as they roll down from the north.
The towns of Judah will be destroyed
and become a haunt for jackals. (Jeremiah 10:17-22)

According to Mark Twain, a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. Jeremiah was the prophet of the end, standing against such lies. He stood on the precipice and pointed at the pit with outstretched hand warning everyone to turn back, even as they closed their eyes and plugged their ears and rushed headlong into it.

God felt agony as he watched his people plunge suffer the horrible consequences of their long disobedience. God was angry at his people’s unfaithfulness, their insistence on chasing non-existent gods every night instead of staying home with him. His heart was broken in anguish. He loved them so much that even as they turned away from him, betrayed him, hated him, he took no pleasure in the discipline that they had forced him to give. As they lost their homes, their families, their loved ones, and as they were dragged into foreign bondage, God’s heart was cut. God mourned the destruction of his beloved Jerusalem and temple more than his people did. Their suffering was his suffering, their burdens became his.

His people had lost their senses: they threw away the truth and scrambled after lies. They exchanged hope for despair. They replaced stone and iron with sand and straw. Forbidden fruit tastes sweet, but in the end, it’s just a lie that will make us sick.

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