Jeremiah 8

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Jeremiah 8

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18 My joy has flown away; grief has settled on me. My heart is sick.

19 Listen—the cry of my dear people from a far away land, “Is the Lord no longer in Zion, her King not within her?” Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols?

20 Harvest has passed, summer has ended, but we have not been saved.

21 I am broken by the brokenness of my dear people. I mourn; horror has taken hold of me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? So why has the healing of my dear people not come about?

18 My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken.

19 Listen to the weeping of my people; it can be heard all across the land. “Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem?” the people ask. “Is her King no longer there?” “Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols and their worthless foreign gods?” says the Lord.

20 “The harvest is finished, and the summer is gone,” the people cry, “yet we are not saved!”

21 I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief.

22 Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?

18 You who are my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.

19 Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they aroused my anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?”

20 “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”

21 Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?

18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.

19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?

20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

Study Notes

Jeremiah 8:18-19 Jeremiah was pleading with God to save his people. His grief shows his compassion for those who rejected God. Do you have the same compassion for those who have turned away from God?

Jeremiah 8:20-22 These words vividly portray Jeremiah's emotion as he watched his people reject God. He responded with anguish to a world that is dying in sin. We watch that same world still dying in sin, still rejecting God. But how often do our hearts break for our lost friends and neighbors, our lost world? Only when we have Jeremiah's kind of passionate concern will we be moved to reach out. We must begin by asking God to break our hearts for the world He loves.

Jeremiah 8:22 Gilead was famous for its healing medicine. Jeremiah asks a rhetorical question. The obvious answer is yes - God could heal them - but Israel was not applying the medicine, they were not obeying the LORD. Although the people's spiritual sickness was still very deep, it could be healed. But the people refused the medicine. God could heal their self-inflicted wounds, but He would not force His healing on them.

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