8:4 The Lord commanded Jeremiah to ask the people if it was not normal for people to repent after sinning. After all, when someone falls down, the natural thing to do is to get up. When he gets lost, he tries to get back on the right way as soon as possible.
8:5 But the people of Jerusalem had behaved unnaturally in continuing in their apostate condition. They insisted on being deceitful and they refused to return to the Lord even though they had stumbled and lost their way. This was irrational behavior.188
8:6 The Lord had heard what the people were saying, which was not right. They were refusing to acknowledge their sin (cf. 5:1-3). They were headed for trouble, like a horse rushing headlong into battle.
8:7 The migratory birds that visited Palestine yearly knew instinctively when it was time for them to change direction and fly either north or south, depending on the season. But the Judeans had more specific direction from the Lord in His word and the promptings of His love. Yet they did not see that it was time for them to change the direction of their lives (cf. 5:22-23).
"In matters spiritual and moral we act with a perversity which is quite unlike our common sense at other levels, let alone the impressive wisdom of our fellow creatures (even the bird-brained, 7a!)."189
The Judahites were not even as smart as birds.
8:8 The people were claiming that they knew God's word and were obeying it. However, it was only because their experts in the law had perverted it that they could say such a thing (cf. 2 Pet. 3:16). The scribes kept official records, copied important documents, and taught the people the law.
8:9 The Lord's word through Jeremiah had exposed these "wise men."They had rejected the Lord's word, and that was not "wise."
8:10 Since all the spiritual leaders, from the least to the greatest, lived for money and persisted in their deceit, the Lord would give their wives and fields to new owners, namely, the invaders (cf. Deut. 28:30).
"Dark is the day when people reject God's Word. Darker it is when the ministers of the Word betray their holy commission.190
8:11 Those in positions of spiritual leadership had provided panaceas for the people by telling them that all was well, but all was far from well.
8:12 These leaders were not in the least ashamed by their conduct, not even enough to blush. Therefore the Lord would cause them to fall when the rest of the people fell in the coming invasion (cf. 6:12-15).
"Could men reach a stage of apostasy where they would never repent? Yes they could, and Judah had reached that point [cf. Heb. 6:4-6]."191
This passage is a scathing indictment of Judah's spiritual leaders.
