Jeremiah (1-31) 13:22 Commentary and Bible Study

‘And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me?’ Why would they even ask? Hasn’t Jeremiah told them again and again why they are under discipline? Haven’t their consciences been testifying against them continually? For the wicked man to question why he is being punished can be a further act of deception, and not an honest enquiry. He wants to make out how unreasonable it is, in spite of all that he knows. This question is not asked out loud, but in their hearts. This shows a measure of self-deception, and self-justification in refusing to admit the obvious answer. So God responds by again telling Judah the plain truth. ‘For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.’ In giving this answer, the Lord adds a further deeply unwelcome detail for them to reflect upon. They will be stripped naked, as prisoners often were when captured. What had been covered all their lives in each other’s presence will be laid bare to their deep shame. ‘Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.’ This is a classic proof text for the doctrine of total depravity. Distinctive natural characteristics which mark the body, are used to illustrate features of the soul. The argument is that just as we have no ability to alter the natural characteristics of the body which we have received, so we have no ability to change the soul, and to transform the natural man into a spiritual man who is open to God’s call. This is the true explanation for Judah’s lack of response to the prophet’s message. Of course, they are responsible for their unbelief and disobedience, and this inability does not in any way take away their guilt, but ‘the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned’ (1 Corinthians 2:14).‘Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.’ This is the tragedy: that the Lord who would have cherished them as his dear children, would, because of their waywardness, treat them with callous indifference. This is language calculated to jolt the people, and make them long for that relationship with their God that they had forfeited. The wind is careless about what damage it does, and what it scatters to the four corners of the earth. That cruel disregard has taken the place of the loving concern of the Lord.It is for this reason that their nakedness would be exposed, and their shame revealed for all to see. ‘I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields.’ Though they had asked the question in verse 22, it was not a serious question, for they knew only too well about these things that God says he has seen. They have not just fallen once, but they have multiplied their sins and made them habitual, and earned a reputation for doing these things. How can they pretend otherwise? ‘Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?’ Here is a manner of preaching to the hardened sinner that does not say, ‘Jesus loves you’, but which stresses the difficulty of them ever coming to repentance and obtaining a better heart. The willful need to be shown how powerful is the grip of sin upon them.