CONFRONTING A NATION
Jeremiah • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
“Nations, like individuals, are subject to punishments and chastisements in this world.” - Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States
Young Jeremiah, however, started his ministry with courageous, compassionate, and convicting messages.
Boldly, he confronted the people with their sins and pleaded with them to repent and return to the Lord. Four major themes combine in these messages: rebellion, repentance, righteousness, and retribution.
1. G0D SEES OUR HEART - Rebellion: God sees His people's sins (Jer. 2:1-37)
Jeremiah had a gift for expressing theological truth in visual language. In fact, much of his preaching can be read as poetry. In this chapter, he paints ten pictures that expose the sins of the people.
An unfaithful wife (vv. 1-8).
When the Lord gave the Israelites His covenant at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19-20), He entered into a loving relationship with them that He compared to marriage.
"They broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them" (Jer. 31:32, NIv; see 3:14). In the Old Testament, Israel's idolatry is compared to adultery and even prostitution (see Isa. 54:5; Hosea 2:16). At the beginning of this covenant relationship, the Jews were devoted to the Lord and loved Him, but once they conquered the Promised Land, their hearts lusted after the gods of the nations around them and they sank into idolatry (Jud. 1-3). Although God had taken them safely through their wilderness journey and given them a wonderful inheritance in Canaan, they abandoned Him for man-made gods. What kind of loyal love is that?
Broken cisterns (vv. 9-13).
"Go from west to east," said the prophet, "and you will not find a nation that changed its gods." But Israel forsook the true God for false gods, which was like abandoning a spring of fresh flowing water for a cracked muddy cistern that couldn't hold water. In the Holy Land, water is valuable, and nobody would do something foolish like that. No wonder the Lord said, "Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror" (Jer. 2:12, NIV). The second phrase literally means "Let your hair stand on end!"
A plundered slave (vv. 14-19).
God redeemed the Jews from Egypt and gave them freedom in Canaan, but now their nation had gone back into bondage because of its idolatry. By allying with its pagan neighbors - Egypt and Assyria - instead of trusting the Lord, Judah had become a vassal state and was being plundered and enslaved. Instead of drinking at the pure river that the Lord gave them, the Judahites drank the polluted waters of the Nile and the Euphrates. Memphis and Tahpanhes were Egyptian cities, and Shihor was a branch of the Nile River.®
A basic principle is enunciated in verse 19
God punishes us by allowing our own sins to bring pain and discipline to our lives.
18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; This is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, Because it reacheth unto thine heart.
"Your wrongdoings have kept these [rains] away; your sins have deprived you of good" (5:25, TV). The greatest judgment God can send to disobedient people is to let them have their own way and reap the sad, painful consequences of their sins.
The word "backsliding" literally means "to turn away" and describes the nation's repeated apostasy.
The Book of Judges records at least seven occasions when Israel turned from the Lord and had to be chastened, and there were numerous other times during the period of the monarchy when the Israelites deliberately turned from the Lord.
The word “backslide" is not used in the New Testament, but the experience is described in other ways:
falling from grace (Gal. 5:4),
leaving your first love (Rev. 2:4),
loving the world (1 John 2:15-17; 2 Tim. 4:10),
and walking in darkness (1 John 1:5-10).
A stubborn animal (v. 20).
Jeremiah often used animals to picture people’s behavior, and here he compared the Jews to an unruly animal that won't wear the yoke? One of his recurring phrases is "the stubbornness of their evil hearts" (3:17; 7:24; 9:14; 11:8; 13:10; 16:12; 18:12; 23:17, NIV).® When people, made in the image of God, refuse to obey God, they become like animals (see Ps. 32:9; Prov. 7:21-23; Hosea 4:16).
A degenerate vine (v. 21).
Israel as a vine is a familiar image in the Old Testament (Isa. 5:1-7; Ps. 80:8-16; Ezek. 17:1-10; Hosea 10:1-2). God planted His people in the good land He gave them, but they didn't produce the harvest of righteousness He desired.
• "So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes" (Isa. 5:2
2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, And planted it with the choicest vine, And built a tower in the midst of it, And also made a winepress therein: And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, And it brought forth wild grapes.
Because they worshiped false gods, they became like their degenerate neighbors. How could dead idols ever produce living fruit in their nation?
A defiled body (v. 22).
No good works or religious ceremonies could wash away their sins, because the heart of the nation's problem was the problem in their hearts. They had sinful hearts because they had stubborn hearts - hearts that refused to listen to God's servant and obey God's Word.
Josiah's reformation was only a cosmetic change in the kingdom of Judah; it never reached the people’s hearts so that they repented and sought forgiveness from the Lord.
Jeremiah is preeminently the prophet of the heart, for he used the word over sixty times. "O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved" (Jer. 4:14, NIv). "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (17:9) Judah needed to return to the Lord with their whole heart, for only then could He bless them.
An animal in the desert (vv. 23-25).
Even if the people denied that they were defiled, their actions proved otherwise, for they were like animals: a lost camel, looking for an oasis; or a donkey in heat, running here and there, looking for a mate. As the Jews pursued the false gods of the pagan nations, their shoes wore out and their throats became dry.
How much better had they drunk the refreshing water from the river of God!
But they had given themselves so much to sin that they despaired of being saved. "It's no use!" (2:25, Tv) was their excuse. "It's hopeless!" They sounded like confirmed alcoholics or compulsive gamblers who can't break the habit, or like the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda who had been sick for so long that he'd given up hope.
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
Jesus Christ, however, specializes in hopeless cases.
A disgraced thief (w. 26-28).
A thief caught in the act may protest his or her innocence, but the evidence is there for all to see. Any visitor to the kingdom of Judah could see what God saw: people turning their backs on God and talking to deaf idols, but then turning desperately to Jehovah for help when they found themselves in trouble. They were caught red-handed!
Incorrigible children (vv. 29-35).
God chastened them many times for their sins, but they refused to change their ways, and then they even blamed God! He brought charges against them (er. 2:9), but instead of confessing and repenting, they complained and brought charges against Him! None of His discipline seemed to do any good. "You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction" (5:3, NIv; see 7:28; 17:23; 32:33; 35:13).
God reminded the people how richly He had blessed them.
Yet they had rebelled against Him (2:29), forgot Him (v. 32), and lied to Him (vv. 33-35), claiming to be innocent. One of the major themes of the Book of Deuteronomy is that the nation remembers the Lord and what He had done for them.
Yet the people took their blessings for granted and gave their allegiance to dumb idols. They were so skilled at their harlotry, worshiping false gods, that even the most wicked prostitute could learn new things from them! They exploited the poor and were stained by their blood, and yet they pleaded innocent (see Amos 2:6-8; 5:10-12).
Because the nation at that time was enjoying political and economic prosperity, they concluded that God's blessing was proof of their innocence! They didn't realize that God can bless the wicked (Pss. 37 and 73; Matt. 5:45) and
2. GOD LOVES PEOPLE - Repentance: God pleads for His people to return to Him (Jer. 3:1-4:31)
The two key words in this section are "return" (3:1, 7, 12, 22; 4:1) and "backsliding" (3:6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 22). In the Hebrew, "backsliding" ("faithless," NIV) is actually a form of the word translated "return."
Pictures (3:1-10; 3:21-4:4). The prophet again used four vivid images to picture the sad spiritual condition of the kingdom of Judah.
THE UNFAITHFUL WIFE (3:1-10).
Jeremiah returned to the metaphor of marriage that he had used in 2:1-2 and 20, but this time he introduced the subject of divorce. The Mosaic Law permitted a man to divorce his wife, but it did not allow him to marry her again (Deut. 24:1-4). God had every right to reject His people, because they had abandoned Him, not to marry another "husband," but in order to play the harlot with many lovers. The people had gone to the hills and built shrines dedicated to foreign gods. They had acted worse than common prostitutes who at least waited for lovers to come to them, for Judah had pursued false gods and repeatedly committed spiritual adultery with them.'
Instead of rejecting His people, the Lord patiently called for them to return and be restored as His wife. What grace! God had even caused a drought in the land, and the people had called out to Him for help (Jer. 3:4-5), but they had not really repented of their sins. Because of their covenant relationship with God, Judah called Him "Father" and "guide," a title Jewish wives sometimes used in addressing their husbands. But how could God give them covenant blessings when they were violating covenant commandments?
When Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.c., the Southern Kingdom of Judah witnessed this divine judgment. Nevertheless, the Judahites refused to learn from Israel's destruction and turn from their sins (vv. 6-11).
THE UNHEALTHY PATIENT (3:21-25).
In Scripture, sickness is one of many metaphors for sin (Jer. 8:22; 30:12; Isa. 1:5-6;
4 I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: Heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Like an infection entering the bloodstream, sin secretly gets into the “inner man” system and goes to work weakening and destroying. It gradually infects the whole system, producing spiritual lassitude and loss of spiritual appetite; and if not cared for, the "sin sickness" can lead to dire consequences. When we hear about believers “suddenly" falling into open sin, in most cases a gradual slide preceded the sudden fall.
God offers to heal, not just the symptoms of their backsliding, but the backsliding itself. The false prophets dealt only with symptoms and announced a false peace that gave the people a false confidence (Jer. 6:14; 7:8; 8:11). But a true physician of souls will tell the truth and seek to lead sinners to genuine spiritual healing that comes from honest confession and repentance.
The Jews thought their deliverance would come from the idols they worshiped in the high places - the hill shrines - but their only hope was to repent and trust the Lord." These idols were unable to save them. In fact, they brought nothing but shame. Yet the Jews had sacrificed their God-given produce, flocks, and herds, and even their children to these shameful idols!
THE UNPLOWED FIELD (4:1-3).
The problem with the people was their dishonesty; they would use the right language, but they wouldn't mean it from their hearts. They would pray to the true God but not forsake the false gods. It was easy to say, "As the Lord lives," but they didn't say it "in truth, justice, and righteousness." Their hearts were hard and crowded with thorns like a neglected, unplowed field. Hosea used this image (Hosea 10:12) and so did Jesus in His Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23).
THE UNCIRCUMCISED HEART (4:4).
Jewish boys were circumcised when eight days old, given a name, and made a son of the covenant (Gen. 17:9-14; Lev. 12:3; Luke 1:59). Although no amount of surgery on the body could change the heart, the Jews thought that this ritual was their guarantee of salvation
(Matt. 3:7-9; Acts 15:1-5).
God, however, wanted them to "operate" on their hearts and put away their callousness and disobedience.
"Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer" (Deut. 10:16, KJV; see also 30:6; Rom. 2:28-29; Col. 2:11). They also needed to circumcise their ears (Jer. 6:10) so they could hear the Word of God.
Many people today depend on baptism, the Lord's Supper (Communion, the Eucharist), confirmation, or some other religious ritual for their salvation when what God wants from us is sincere faith from a repentant heart. Salvation is a gift that we receive by faith; it's not a reward that we earn by being religious.
Promises (3:11-13). The Lord even called to the dispersed Israelites to return to Him. This invitation reminds us of God's promises in Leviticus 26:40-45, Deuteronomy 30, and 2 Kings 8:46-53, which assured them that God would forgive if they would repent. In Jeremiah 3:14-19,12 Jeremiah seemed to be looking far ahead to the Kingdom Age when Israel and Judah would be united, the nation would be purified and multiplied, and God would give them spiritual leaders to care for them. In the darkest days of their history, the Israelites heard their prophets announce this coming messianic kingdom, and the promise gave them hope.
The people must have been shocked when they heard Jeremiah say that the day would come when the ark of the covenant would be gone, forgotten, and never missed (v. 16).
They trusted in the ark, the temple, the religious rituals, the covenant, and yet these things were temporary signs pointing to something spiritual and eternal.
The day would come when circumcised Jews would be treated like uncircumcised Gentiles (9:25-26), when the temple would no longer be needed (7:1-15; see John 4:20-24), and when there would be a new covenant that would change hearts (11:1-5; 31:31-40). Like Jesus, Jeremiah saw beyond external religion and taught that God was seeking the heart’s devotion. No wonder both of them were accused of being traitors and persecuted for opposing the "true religion," which God had given to Israel.
Punishment (4:5-18).
Jeremiah announced the invasion of the Babylonian army from the north (1:14), like a fierce lion (4:7) and a devastating desert storm (vv. 11-13). Dreadful judgment was coming to Judah, and yet the nation was unprepared because the people believed the deceptive message of peace proclaimed by the false prophets (v. 10), "It can't happen here!" was their slogan. "After all, we have the temple and the ark of the covenant."
God commanded the watchmen to blow the trumpet and alert the people to run to the walled cities for safety. That would have given them time to repent in sackcloth (v. 8) and to wash their hearts by confessing their sins (v. 14). The Babylonian army, however, would come swiftly (v. 13; see Ezek. 38:16) and do their job thoroughly. "Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!" (Jer. 4:18, NIV).
Pain (4:19-31).
Known as "the weeping prophet," Jeremiah here expressed his anguish as he contemplated a national tragedy that could have been averted (4:19-21). No other Old Testament prophet revealed his broken heart and sorrow, as did Jeremiah (see 6:24; 9:10; 10:19-20). When ministering publicly, he was bold before men; in private, he was heartbroken before God.
God explained to His servant why the judgment was coming: The people were foolish; they did not know God; they were stupid; and they lacked understanding (4:22). If they had been as skillful in holy living as they were in sinning, God would have blessed them instead of judging them.
With prophetic vision, Jeremiah saw what the Babylonians would do to the land (wv. 23-29), producing chaos such as that described in Genesis 1:2." No matter where he looked, he saw ruin. Even the stable mountains shook! It was only by the mercy of God that everything in Judah wasn't completely devastated (Jer. 4:27; see 5:10, 18; 30:11; 46:28).
But an equally great tragedy was the unbelief of the people who refused to repent and ask God for His help (4:30-31).
Jeremiah described them as prostitutes who were trying to seduce other nations to come and help them stop the Babylonians, but their "lovers" wouldn't respond to their pleas.
Judah trusted political alliances instead of trusting the Lord.
But the prostitutes would become like women in travail - an image of painful judgment that's used often in Jeremiah (6:24; 13:21; 22:23; 30:6; 48:41; 49:22, 24; 50:43),15
3. GOD SEARCHES FOR THE RIGHTEOUS: God searches for the godly (Jer. 5:1-31)
Gen 18:32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
Gen 18:33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Pro 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Since the people would not listen to God's Word, God told Jeremiah to "act out" his message. This is the first of at least ten "action sermons" found in Jeremiah. Meanwhile, this chapter deals with four sins of the people of Jerusalem.
Investigation: they were ungodly (5:1-6).
God commanded Jeremiah to search for all the city of Jerusalem. If even one righteous person was discovered, the Lord would forgive the wicked city and call off the invasion. The background for this "action sermon" is God's agreement with Abraham to spare Sodom if ten righteous men were in the city (Gen. 18:22-33).
The test in Jerusalem was, "Does the person practice justice and truth?"
Jeremiah found nobody among the poor who qualified, but he concluded that their lack of religious education would excuse them. The prophet then went to the nobles and the leaders, who he discovered knew God's commandments but threw off the yoke and turned away from the Law (Jer. 5:5; see 2:20; Ps. 2:1-3).
When the survey was concluded, not one person was found who was honest and truthful.
One thing was left for God to do: He would allow the invaders to enter the land like marauding animals and destroy the people (see Jer. 2:15; 4:7).
The animal had gotten loose from the yoke and run away from the master, only to be met by a lion, a wolf, and a leopard! What kind of freedom was that?
Condemnation: they were ungrateful (5:7-9).
2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
God asked two questions: "Why should I forgive you?" (v. 7, NIV) and "Shall I not punish them for these things?"
(v. 9, KIv) God "fed them to the full" (v. 7;
"supplied all their needs," NIV),
yet they used His gifts in order to commit sin and serve their idols.
The goodness of God should have brought them to repentance (Rom. 2:4),
but they were ungrateful for His blessings (Hosea 2:4-13).
Instead of acting like men and women made in the image of God, they became like animals in heat ("well-fed, lusty stallions," Jer. 5:8, see 2:24).
The idolatrous nations in Canaan conducted an unbelievably immoral worship. In their minds, consorting with the temple prostitutes could guarantee a fruitful harvest. Baal was the storm god who provided the needed rain. Thus, when the Lord held back the rain to warn His people, they turned to pagan idols for help. Josiah had gotten rid of the temple prostitutes, but these prostitutes found other ways to carry on their trade and satisfy the desires they had inflamed in the men of Judah.
Not unlike society today, the people worshiped sex and saw nothing wrong with what they were doing.
Devastation: they were unfaithful (5:10-19).
This is the heart of the matter: Since the people did not believe God's Word, they turned their backs on God and went their own way.
(Jer. 5:12
12 They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
They rejected the Word God spoke through the prophets and called it "wind." As a result, God called for devastating judgment to come to His vineyard (vv. 10-11; see 2:21).
God, however, said His Word would be a fire that would consume the people like wood (5:14; see 23:29). Note the repetition of the phrase "eat up" ("devour," NTV) in 5:17, an announcement that the Babylonian invasion would consume the land and the people. This invasion would fulfill the warning given in Deuteronomy 28:49-52, a warning that the people knew. The Jews had forsaken the Lord and served idols in their own land.
Now they would be temporarily forsaken by the Lord and taken to Babylon where they would serve idols in a foreign land.
Yet, this warning opened and closed with the promise that God would not destroy the nation completely (Jer. 5:10, 18; see 4:27; 30:11; 46:28)." Even in wrath, He remembers mercy (Hab. 3:2). The Jewish prophets announced judgment, they also promised that a "remnant" would be spared. Isaiah repeated this promise Isa. 1:19; 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; 14:22; 46:3) and even named one of his sons "a remnant returns" (Shearjashub, 7:3), and Micah echoed the same promise Micah 2:12; 4:7; 5:3, 7-8; 7:18).
The remnant that returned to Judah from Babylon after the Captivity restored the nation, rebuilt the temple, and maintained the testimony, preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah. God had covenanted with Abraham that through his descendants all the world would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3), and God kept His promise.
Proclamation: they were unconcerned (5:20-31).
Jeremiah was a retiring sort of person. Yet God told him to boldly announce and proclaim to the whole house of Jacob what the people were like. The prophet's description of the people must have angered them, but it didn't shake them out of their complacency. Jeremiah told them that they were foolish, senseless, blind, and deaf, and that they had no fear of God.
They were stubborn and rebellious, having turned away from serving the Lord.
The mighty seas obeyed God's rule, but His own people rejected Him. God sent the rains and gave the harvests, but His people refused to thank Him.
Instead of encouraging one another to fear God, they exploited one another like hunters snaring birds. Thus the rich grew richer as the poor languished.
The courts were corrupt, the prophets were liars, and the priests went right along with them; and the people approved what was done and enjoyed it!
"My people love to have it so (Jer. 5:31). When a nation becomes that corrupt, there is no hope.
The sinners thought they were getting away with their crimes, but God asked them, "What will you do in the end?" (5:31, NIV)
12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death.
4. GOD SENDS JUDGEMENT - Retribution: God sends His judgment (Jer. 6:1-30)
This closing section of Jeremiah's sermon focuses on the invading Babylonian army and the devastation they will bring to the kingdom of Judah. In that critical hour, the prophet told the nation what God was doing.
God declares war (vv. 1-5). First, the Lord spoke to His people and warned them that judgment was coming (vv. 1-3).
The Jews had three main ways to get military information:
from the watchmen on the walls (v. 17),
from trumpet signals. (v. 1; see Num. 10:1-10),
and from signal fires lit on high places (Jer. 6:1).
Since Jeremiah's hometown of Anathoth was in Benjamin, he started by warning his own neighbors to get out of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is compared to a "beautiful and delicate woman," but she will end up like a "widow" (Lam. 1:1) with all of her beauty gone (v. 6). Foreign "shepherds" (soldiers) would invade the beautiful pastures and set up their tents only to slaughter the flock.
God then spoke to the Babylonian army over which He had commanded (Jer. 6:4-5), and He shared His strategy with them: make a surprise attack at noon, the hottest time of the day, when nobody would expect it, and plan to continue the attack through the night when most armies retire. The word translated "prepare" means "to sanctify or consecrate"; the Babylonians considered this war a holy crusade for their gods (see Joel 3:9; Micah 3:5).
God directs the attack (vv. 6-15).
The Lord told the Babylonian army to chop down trees and build ramps against the city’s walls. Then He told them why they were doing it. Jerusalem was like a well pouring filthy water, and the city must be punished. It was like a dying person with infected wounds that couldn't be healed, and these things must be purged away. Finally, God told them how to do it: with precision and thoroughness, the way gleaners go over a vineyard so as not to miss any fruit (Jer. 6:5, 9).
The prophet lamented that nobody was listening at this critical time in history! (v. 10)
Not only were their hearts uncircumcised (4:4),
but so were their ears (see Acts 7:51); and they refused to hear God's Word. Full of the wrath of the Lord, Jeremiah told them that God's anger will be poured out on young and old, men and women, and even the children. Rulers and priests won't escape; in fact, they were the most guilty because they had given the people false confidence and had refused to repent of their sins (Jer. 6:13-15; see 7:8; 8:11). "For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests" (Lam. 4:13) God would send this judgment.
God delivers the verdict (vv. 16-23). Are the people guilty?
Yes! Do they deserve this punishment? Yes! God called the Gentiles and the earth to bear witness that He had done all He could to spare them this judgment (Jer. 6:18-19).
They would not walk on His path, and they would not listen to His prophets. Nevertheless, they continued to bring Him their hypocritical worship! (See Isa. 1:11-14; Amos 5:21; Micah 6:6-8.) God gave them the right way, but they rejected it.
There could be no escape. The Babylonian army would be a formidable obstacle to anyone fleeing God’s wrath. The daughter of Zion could not escape.
God describes the consequences (vv. 24-30). The prophet described the people’s responses as they heard the news - nothing but anguish, fear, and weakness, like a woman in hard labor (Jer. 6:24-26). "Terror on every side" (v. 25, NIV) is a phrase used again in 20:10, 46:5, and 49:29. This was the nickname Jeremiah gave Pashur, the chief officer of the temple (20:1-3).
Sometimes suffering brings out the best in people, but that wouldn't happen in the siege of Jerusalem. When God turned on the furnace, it would reveal the people as rejected silver, nothing but dross to be thrown away. He wasn't purifying them; He was punishing them. They weren't being refined; they were being rejected. They were too cheap to preserve.
"Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever."
Thomas Jefferson wrote those words in his Notes on the State of Virginia over two centuries ago. It is still a sobering thought for us today.