“Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations— that’s what I had in mind for you.”

Stand Up and Say Your Piece

God’s Message came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “A walking stick—that’s all.” And God said, “Good eyes! I’m sticking with you. I’ll make every word I give you come true.”

God’s Message came again: “So what do you see now?” I said, “I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us.” Then God told me, “Disaster will pour out of the north on everyone living in this land. Watch for this: I’m calling all the kings out of the north.” God’s Decree. “They’ll come and set up headquarters facing Jerusalem’s gates, Facing all the city walls, facing all the villages of Judah. I’ll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!— And courting other gods with their offerings, worshiping as gods sticks they’d carved, stones they’d painted.

Israel Was God’s Holy Choice

God’s Message came to me. It went like this: “Get out in the streets and call to Jerusalem, ‘God’s Message! I remember your youthful loyalty, our love as newlyweds. You stayed with me through the wilderness years, stuck with me through all the hard places. Israel was God’s holy choice, the pick of the crop. Anyone who laid a hand on her would soon wish he hadn’t!’” God’s Decree. * * *

“Because of all this, I’m bringing charges against you” —God’s Decree— “charging you and your children and your grandchildren. Look around. Have you ever seen anything quite like this? Sail to the western islands and look. Travel to the Kedar wilderness and look. Look closely. Has this ever happened before, That a nation has traded in its gods for gods that aren’t even close to gods? But my people have traded my Glory for empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.

“Isn’t Israel a valued servant, born into a family with place and position? So how did she end up a piece of meat fought over by snarling and roaring lions? There’s nothing left of her but a few old bones, her towns trashed and deserted. Egyptians from the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken your skulls. And why do you think all this has happened? Isn’t it because you walked out on your God just as he was beginning to lead you in the right way?

Addicted to Alien Gods

“A long time ago you broke out of the harness. You shook off all restraints. You said, ‘I will not serve!’ and off you went, Visiting every sex-and-religion shrine on the way, like a common whore. You were a select vine when I planted you from completely reliable stock. And look how you’ve turned out— a tangle of rancid growth, a poor excuse for a vine. Scrub, using the strongest soaps. Scour your skin raw. The sin-grease won’t come out. I can’t stand to even look at you!” God’s Decree, the Master’s Decree.

“Just as a thief is chagrined, but only when caught, so the people of Israel are chagrined, Caught along with their kings and princes, their priests and prophets. They walk up to a tree and say, ‘My father!’ They pick up a stone and say, ‘My mother! You bore me!’ All I ever see of them is their backsides. They never look me in the face. But when things go badly, they don’t hesitate to come running, calling out, ‘Get a move on! Save us!’ Why not go to your handcrafted gods you’re so fond of? Rouse them. Let them save you from your bad times. You’ve got more gods, Judah, than you know what to do with.

“What an impressive start you made to get the most out of life. You founded schools of sin, taught graduate courses in evil! And now you’re sending out graduates, resplendent in cap and gown— except the gowns are stained with the blood of your victims! All that blood convicts you. You cut and hurt a lot of people to get where you are. And yet you have the nerve to say, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong. God doesn’t mind. He hasn’t punished me, has he?’ Don’t look now, but judgment’s on the way, aimed at you who say, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

Admit Your God-Defiance

God spoke to me during the reign of King Josiah: “You have noticed, haven’t you, how fickle Israel has visited every hill and grove of trees as a whore at large? I assumed that after she had gotten it out of her system, she’d come back, but she didn’t. Her flighty sister, Judah, saw what she did. She also saw that because of fickle Israel’s loose morals I threw her out, gave her her walking papers. But that didn’t faze flighty sister Judah. She went out, big as you please, and took up a whore’s life also. She took up cheap sex-and-religion as a sideline diversion, an indulgent recreation, and used anything and anyone, flouting sanity and sanctity alike, stinking up the country. And not once in all this did flighty sister Judah even give me a nod, although she made a show of it from time to time.” God’s Decree.

“Jerusalem will be the new Ark—‘God’s Throne.’ All the godless nations, no longer stuck in the ruts of their evil ways, will gather there to honor God.

The sound of voices comes drifting out of the hills, the unhappy sound of Israel’s crying, Israel lamenting the wasted years, never once giving her God a thought. “Come back, wandering children! I can heal your wanderlust!” * * * “We’re here! We’ve come back to you. You’re our own true God! All that popular religion was a cheap lie, duped crowds buying up the latest in gods. We’re back! Back to our true God, the salvation of Israel. The Fraud picked us clean, swindled us of what our ancestors bequeathed us, Gypped us out of our inheritance— God-blessed flocks and God-given children. We made our bed and now lie in it, all tangled up in the dirty sheets of dishonor. All because we sinned against our God, we and our fathers and mothers. From the time we took our first steps, said our first words, we’ve been rebels, disobeying the voice of our God.” * * *

Here’s another Message from God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Plow your unplowed fields, but then don’t plant weeds in the soil! Yes, circumcise your lives for God’s sake. Plow your unplowed hearts, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem. Prevent fire—the fire of my anger— for once it starts it can’t be put out. Your wicked ways are fuel for the fire.

Then I said, “Alas, Master God! You’ve fed lies to this people, this Jerusalem. You assured them, ‘All is well, don’t worry,’ at the very moment when the sword was at their throats.” * * *

What’s this? A messenger from Dan? Bad news from Ephraim’s hills! Make the report public. Broadcast the news to Jerusalem: “Invaders from far off are raising war cries against Judah’s towns. They’re all over her, like a dog on a bone. And why? Because she rebelled against me.” God’s Decree.

“It’s the way you’ve lived that’s brought all this on you. The bitter taste is from your evil life. That’s what’s piercing your heart.” * * *

I’m doubled up with cramps in my belly— a poker burns in my gut. My insides are tearing me up, never a moment’s peace. The ram’s horn trumpet blast rings in my ears, the signal for all-out war. Disaster hard on the heels of disaster, the whole country in ruins! In one stroke my home is destroyed, the walls flattened in the blink of an eye. How long do I have to look at the warning flares, listen to the siren of danger?

Experts at Evil

“What fools my people are! They have no idea who I am. A company of half-wits, dopes and donkeys all! Experts at evil but klutzes at good.”

I looked at the earth— it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness. I looked at the skies, and not a star to be seen. I looked at the mountains— they were trembling like aspen leaves, And all the hills rocking back and forth in the wind. I looked—what’s this! Not a man or woman in sight, and not a bird to be seen in the skies. I looked—this can’t be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up. All the towns were ghost towns. And all this because of God, because of the blazing anger of God.

Sins Are Piled Sky-High

“Patrol Jerusalem’s streets. Look around. Take note. Search the market squares. See if you can find one man, one woman, A single soul who does what is right and tries to live a true life. I want to forgive that person.” God’s Decree. “But if all they do is say, ‘As sure as God lives . . . ’ they’re nothing but a bunch of liars.”

But you, God, you have an eye for truth, don’t you? You hit them hard, but it didn’t faze them. You disciplined them, but they refused correction. Hardheaded, harder than rock, they wouldn’t change. Then I said to myself, “Well, these are just poor people. They don’t know any better. They were never taught anything about God. They never went to prayer meetings. I’ll find some people from the best families. I’ll talk to them. They’ll know what’s going on, the way God works. They’ll know the score.” But they were no better! Rebels all! Off doing their own thing. The invaders are ready to pounce and kill, like a mountain lion, a wilderness wolf, Panthers on the prowl. The streets aren’t safe anymore. And why? Because the people’s sins are piled sky-high; their betrayals are past counting.

Eyes That Don’t Really Look, Ears That Don’t Really Listen

“Go down the rows of vineyards and rip out the vines, but not all of them. Leave a few. Prune back those vines! That growth didn’t come from God! They’ve betrayed me over and over again, Judah and Israel both.” God’s Decree.

“They’ve spread lies about God. They’ve said, ‘There’s nothing to him. Nothing bad will happen to us, neither famine nor war will come our way. The prophets are all windbags. They speak nothing but nonsense.’”

“Even then, as bad as it will be”—God’s Decree!—“it will not be the end of the world for you. And when people ask, ‘Why did our God do all this to us?’ you must say to them, ‘This is back on you. Just as you left me and served foreign gods in your own country, so now you must serve foreigners in their own country.’

“Tell the house of Jacob this, put out this bulletin in Judah: Listen to this, you scatterbrains, airheads, With eyes that see but don’t really look, and ears that hear but don’t really listen. Why don’t you honor me? Why aren’t you in awe before me? Yes, me, who made the shorelines to contain the ocean waters. I drew a line in the sand that cannot be crossed. Waves roll in but cannot get through; breakers crash but that’s the end of them. But this people—what a people! Uncontrollable, untamable runaways. It never occurs to them to say, ‘How can we honor our God with our lives, The God who gives rain in both spring and autumn and maintains the rhythm of the seasons, Who sets aside time each year for harvest and keeps everything running smoothly for us?’ Of course you don’t! Your bad behavior blinds you to all this. Your sins keep my blessings at a distance.