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One-sentence summary: Jeremiah laments the destruction of Israel and Judah.
The Lord tells Israel not to learn the way of the Gentiles or be dismayed at the signs of heaven like them, "for the customs of the people are futile." Jeremiah praises the Lord and asks who would not fear Him, as there is none like Him. Nevertheless, His people are foolish and worship idols. The earth will tremble at His wrath. The Lord tells Jeremiah to tell His people that their "gods" will perish. He is the One who has made the heavens and the earth. Israel is the Lord's inheritance. The Lord says He will remove His people from the land. Jeremiah says his wound is severe, but he knows he must bear it. He says the shepherds have become dull-hearted and have not sought the Lord, so their sheep will be scattered. Jeremiah says, "Oh, Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps."
The Lord tells Jeremiah to speak to Judah and Jerusalem and tell them that the Lord says, "Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of [His] covenant." The Lord wants to establish His covenant with His people that He made with their fathers. He tells Jeremiah to proclaim the words of His covenant in Judah and in Jerusalem. The Lord says they followed the dictates of their evil hearts, so He will bring on them the words of the covenant. They have turned back to the iniquities of their fathers and gone to other gods, breaking His covenant. Therefore, the Lord will bring calamity on them that will be inescapable, and He will not listen when they cry out to Him. They will cry to their gods, and they will not save them. They have as many gods as cities (Judah), and as many altars as streets in Jerusalem, so the Lord tells Jeremiah not to pray for them. He still calls them His beloved but asks what they have to do with Him after being unfaithful with other lovers (gods.) The Lord says the young men will die by the sword, and their sons and daughters by famine, and there will be no remnant.
Jeremiah asks why the way of the wicked prospers and why those who deal treacherously are happy. He says they are planted by the Lord and bear fruit; God is "near to their mouth yet far from their mind." He asks, "How long will the land mourn" because of wickedness. The Lord responds by asking Jeremiah, "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?" The Lord says even Jeremiah's father's house has dealt treacherously with him. He says not to believe them, even if they speak smooth words or him. THe Lord says He has given the dearly beloved of His soul into the hands of His enemy. Yet, He will still have compassion on them and bring them back, and if they will learn carefully the ways of His people and swear by His name and not by Baal, then they will be established. If not, He will completely pluck up and destroy them.
The Lord tells Jeremiah to put a linen sash around his waist and to go to the Euphrates and hide it in a hole in a rock. After many days, the Lord tells him to go back and take the sash that he hid. When he does, it is ruined, "profitable for nothing." The Lord says He will ruin the pride of Judah and Jerusalem in the same way. The "evil people who refuse to hear [His' words," and who "follow the dictates of their own hearts" and worship and serve idols will be just like the sash- completely useless. The Lord says that like a sash clings to a man, He has caused Israel and Judah to cling to Him, but they would not. He tells Jeremiah to tell them that every bottle will be filled with wine. He tells him that when the people answer, "Of course they will!" he is to reply that the Lord will fill all the inhabitants of the land with drunkenness and dash them against each other, from the kings all the way to the prophets. Therefore, Jeremiah tells them not to be proud but to "give glory to the Lord your God before He causes darkness and... while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death and makes it dense darkness." He says, "But if you will not hear it, my soul will weep in secret for your pride. My eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears because the Lord's flock has been taken captive." When they ask why these things have come upon them, The Lord tells him to say it is because of the greatness of their iniquity. He says though a leopard can't change its spots, they should do good who are accustomed to doing evil. The Lord promises to scatter them like stubble since they have forgotten Him and" trusted in falsehood." He has seen their faithlessness and says, "Woe to you, oh Jerusalem! Will you still not be made clean?"
Thoughts/discussion questions:
"My soul will weep in secret for your pride." The Lord weeps when His people go into spiritual captivity to the enemy. The more we become like Him, the more we will identify with Him in His suffering. We will drink the same cup He drank- that of suffering and joy.