Jeremiah 9 Study Notes

9:12-14 The land was a desolation because the people had stubbornly rejected Torah.

9:15 Wormwood belonged to the aster family. It had a bitter taste and the same effect as the poisonous water.

9:16 God’s declaration I will scatter them among the nations is just what Moses had warned would happen if the people abandoned the Lord (Lv 26:33; Dt 28:36,64).

9:17-22 This section is a poem about death, the grim reaper. Death is personified as an intruder who sneaks in through the window at night.

9:17 The women who mourn were professional mourners whose dirges would start the mourning process for the conquered nation.

9:23-24 Two contrasting ways are described in two triads of values. Wisdom . . . strength, and wealth are the values that the wise . . . the strong, and the wealthy aspire to. But the person who understands and knows the Lord sets his highest values on the fact that God alone is the Lord. He shows faithful love (Hb chesed; used 248 times in the OT, meaning “loyalty, steadfast love, grace”), justice, and righteousness. God’s people should note what he delights in and order their priorities accordingly. The supreme goal and glory of humanity is to know and enjoy God.

9:25 The circumcised yet uncircumcised lumps Judah in with four other nations that practiced circumcision of the flesh but neglected circumcision of the heart (4:4; Gl 5:2-5). Circumcision of the flesh was merely an outward symbol. If that alone were enough to please God, the pagan nations mentioned here would enjoy God’s favor.

9:26 The phrase inhabitants . . . who clip the hair on their temples refers to Arabian tribes that cut hair from the corners of their temples to honor Bacchus, the pagan god of wine. Israel was forbidden to do this (Lv 19:27; Dt 14:1) out of respect for the Lord.