¹⁹ My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in agony!

Oh, the pain in my heart!

My heart pounds;

I cannot be silent.

For you, my soul,

have heard the sound of the ram’s horn—

the shout of battle.

²⁰ Disaster after disaster is reported

because the whole land is destroyed.

Suddenly my tents are destroyed,

my tent curtains, in a moment.

²¹ How long must I see the signal flag

and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?

²² “For my people are fools;

they do not know me.

They are foolish children,

without understanding.

They are skilled in doing what is evil,

but they do not know how to do what is good.”

²³ I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty.

I looked to the heavens,

and their light was gone.

²⁴ I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;

all the hills shook.

²⁵ I looked, and there was no human being,

and all the birds of the sky had fled.

²⁶ I looked, and the fertile field was a wilderness.

All its cities were torn down

because of the Lord

and his burning anger.

²⁷ For this is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be a desolation,

but I will not finish it off.

²⁸ Because of this, the earth will mourn;

the skies above will grow dark.

I have spoken; I have planned,

and I will not relent or turn back from it.”

²⁹ Every city flees

at the sound of the horseman and the archer.

They enter the thickets

and climb among the rocks.

Every city is abandoned;

no inhabitant is left.

³⁰ And you, devastated one, what are you doing

that you dress yourself in scarlet,

that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,

that you enhance your eyes with makeup?

You beautify yourself for nothing.

Your lovers reject you;

they intend to take your life.

³¹ I hear a cry like a woman in labor,

a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.

The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,

stretching out her hands:

“Woe is me, for my life is weary

because of the murderers!”

Jeremiah was in pain regarding the fate of his people. He was not happy to proclaim these words, but the people of Judah no longer knew God and had become fools. They no longer knew how to do good. They were instead skilled at evil. Even in the time of destruction, Judah would be playing the prostitute. She would dress to seduce the nation that God sent to destroy them. The other nations would reject Judah, and her enemies would capture her.

It is painful to watch sin destroy peoples’ lives. Can you minister effectively without having compassion for those whose sin is killing them? We must pray that God would cultivate within us broken hearts for sin. Create in me, O Lord, a heart that shatters for the iniquity of your people.

Without love for God, we cannot even know how to do good. We will only know what is evil. Create within my heart a strong passion for You, O God.

When the world seeks us, we often flee from God to the world. I have played the harlot too many times. All thanks to God for His infinite mercy and ceaseless grace toward me, a sinner. Praise to the gracious Savior Jesus for the forgiveness He purchased with His blood. Glory to the Spirit who works within me, creating a clean heart. Praise the Father, praise the Son, praise the Spirit for His work of salvation.