Jeremiah (1-31) 8:12 Commentary and Bible Study

Given this complete failure to carry out their work, was there any indication that the leaders of Judah had any sense of shame? That is certainly what one would expect, for God has put a conscience in every man. The prophets and the priests knew what was their calling and what message they were supposed to deliver. Their consciences had been instructed about their own particular duties. So why did they apparently feel no shame? Their own answer to that question would have been that they had done no wrong. That is what they wanted people to believe; that was how they responded to Jeremiah’s rebuke. But the truth was very different. Every sin is also an act of violence against one’s own conscience. Conscience has to be pushed out of the way and beaten back in order for human beings to persist in their sin. The result is that conscience is weakened, and next time it will speak more quietly, and eventually it will hardly let out a whimper. We do these things and cover them up; so that God’s reproof has to be put bluntly. Man claims innocence even in the midst of his rebellion. That is an act of force against the Lord, and force needs to be met with force. But Jeremiah is not just hostile haranguing these men. He must show them the worst about themselves, and explain it in terms which may help them to get an insight into their sin and reawaken conscience. ‘Therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down.’ God has a suitable punishment for those who refuse to be ashamed in the normal way. The ability to feel shame is part of the human framework. It has a highly instructive effect on us. But if we refuse to let conscience work, God will bring us under shame in another way. Judah and Jerusalem would be brought to shame at the hands of a cruel enemy, who would leave them with nothing, but strip them bear. God can wait to judge. He is in no hurry, because when his judgment comes it will be unavoidable and devastating.