Jeremiah (1-31) 16:10 Commentary and Bible Study

Jeremiah is warned that his words will be met with resistance and intransigence. The people will attempt to justify themselves. They will not let the Lord’s reproof do its work in their hearts and hear it with a meek and humble spirit. They will fight against it. So they will in effect say to Jeremiah, ‘This is too harsh. We do not deserve this treatment from the Lord. What great sin have we committed that deserves such a response from God. The conscience is fighting against the word of the Lord and his prophet. They have asked questions like this before (Jeremiah 5:19; 13:22). Some people hope that by asking the same question again and again, they will get a different answer. They do not like the answer they have heard before, so they will try again and they can get a better answer. It is treating the Lord as if he could be manipulated by sinful mankind. But God does not change mind; he does not alter his answer to rebellious man. The answer they get back is: ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law.’ They have received the same answer before. The answer is blunt, unremitting. God’s attitude to human sin does not soften with time. He sees what we have done as if we were doing it before his face right now. It is the same answer they have received before (Jeremiah 5:19; 13:10).But then he goes further. God has much to say about our sin (John 8:26), and if we resist him, he will only prove our guilt more conclusively. Neither his perception of their sin, nor the punishment that is assigned to them is going to change. Again, the justice and the appropriateness of the punishment is highlighted. They have served the idols of the nations around them. Very well, they will find themselves have to worship those false gods on an even greater scale, with no option to do otherwise. Those who seek out the vanity of this world for their pleasure, and handed over to the power of vanity.