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One-sentence summary: The Lord prophesies through Jeremiah the destruction of Jerusalem.
The Lord says that if Israel will return to Him and throw away their idols, the nations will bless themselves in Him and will glory in Him. He tells them to break up their fallow ground and circumcise themselves to the Lord, lest His fury come forth like fire. The Lord says to blow the trumpet in the land and assemble together to take refuge in Zion, because destruction will come from the north. The cities will be laid waste. He tells the people to clothe themselves in sackcloth and ashes. He asks Israel how long their evil thoughts will lodge within them. The Lord says His people have been foolish and have not known Him. They are wise to do evil but have no knowledge of good. The land will be desolate, the earth will mourn, and the heavens will turn black. The Lord says He will not relent. Israel's "lovers" will despise them and seek their life.
The Lord asks if there is anyone who seeks the truth and justice. If so, He will pardon them; yet they only seek falsehood. He has disciplined them, but they have "made their faces harder than rock" and not listened to discipline nor known the Lord's ways. Therefore, beasts of the field will slay them for their many sins and backslidings. They have "sworn by those who are not gods." The Lord says He will avenge Himself on Israel and take away her branches, because they are not His. Yet He will not make a complete end of her. Both Israel and Judah have dealt treacherously with the Lord and lied about Him, not acknowledging Him or thinking He will repay them for their sins. Their prophets have become wind; God's word is not in them. Therefore, the Lord's words will be like fire in Jeremiah's mouth, and the people will be like wood, and it will devour them. The Lord is sending a nation against them that will devour their land. When they ask why the Lord has done all these things, the Lord will answer that just as they have served foreign gods in their land, they will serve in a land that is not theirs. They have eyes and see not, ears and hear not. They do not fear the Lord who made the seas. They have a defiant and rebellious heart and don't stir themselves up to fear Him, realizing He gives the harvest and the rain. Their sins have withheld good from them. They are full of deceit and have grown fat, and their deeds surpass those of the wicked. They don't care about the poor and needy. The Lord asks if He should not punish them for these things. He says an astonishing and horrible things has been committed in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power- and God's people love it that way. The Lord asks what they will do in the end.
The Lord tells the tribe of Benjamin to flee from Jerusalem, because disaster and destruction are coming from the north. He says Jerusalem is full of oppression and wickedness- violence and plundering, and grief and wounds are before Him continually. He tells them to receive correction lest His soul depart from them and He make them completely desolate. Their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. The word of the Lord is a reproach to them, and they have no delight in it; therefore, Jeremiah is full of the fury of the Lord, and he is weary of holding it in. He says he will pour it on the assembly. Their houses will be inhabited by others. They are all covetous and deal falsely. They have "healed the daughter of [the Lord's] people slightly, saying, 'Peace! Peace!' when there is no peace." They have had no shame. The Lord tells them to ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and to walk in it and find rest fo their souls. But they have said they would not walk in it. The Lord sent watchman over them and told them to listen to the sound of the trumpet, but they said they would not listen. So He will bring calamity on them, "the fruit of their thoughts," because they rejected His words and His law. The Lord says He will lay stumbling blocks before them. A people will come from the north who have no mercy and will prevail against them. Jeremiah says that because of the sword of the enemy, fear is on every side. The Lord has set Jeremiah as a fortress among His people, who are all stubborn rebels and corruptors.
Thoughts/discussion questions:
There are certain passages of Scripture that are just sad, and there is no way around it; this is one of them- a sobering tale and a somber warning for us. It is passages like these that the phrase "to sin away your day of grace" comes from. There is a point at which God decides to judge, and it is too late to repent.