The subject in this chapter is still the judgment that is to come upon Judah. By this point in the book of Jeremiah, if we are honest, we have heard as much as we care to hear about the wrath of GOD upon sin & sinners. We are desperately ready for a message that will make us happy, a message that will make us shout for joy. It hardly seems necessary for Jeremiah to describe, again (after seemingly the 100th time), what the day of GOD’s wrath & judgment will be like. Yet it is necessary because these things were written for our admonition, our instruction (1 Cor. 10:11). The Holy Spirit uses Jeremiah to engrave this truth on the conscience: GOD hates sin & will surely bring unrepentant sinners to justice. Not only that, but we must not forget that Jeremiah ministered during the final 50 years of Judah’s existence before it was crushed by Babylon. And so, as his sinful people, as his sinful nation, drew closer & closer to judgment day, what would you expect the man of GOD to be led of the Spirit to preach about? Your best life now, not hardly! That was the message of the false prophets; they preached peace & prosperity to a people drowning in sin & heading for destruction. But Jeremiah was a true man of GOD, a true prophet of the Lord, & so as divine judgment approached, GOD continually told Jeremiah to warn of the wrath to come.
