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underkill

Jeremiah 6:10-15 (JDV)

Jeremiah 6:10 Who can I speak to and give such a warning that they would listen? Notice, their ear is uncircumcised, so they cannot pay attention. Notice, the word of Yahveh has become contemptible to them—they do not treasure it.

Jeremiah 6:11 And I am full of Yahveh’s wrath; I am tired of holding it back. Pour it out on the children in the street, on the gathering of young men as well. You see, both husband and wife will be captured, the old with the very old.

Jeremiah 6:12 Their houses will be turned over to others, their fields and wives as well, because I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land. This is what Yahveh declares.

Jeremiah 6:13 You see, from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is making profit dishonestly. From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.

Jeremiah 6:14 They have treated my people’s brokenness superficially, claiming, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.

Jeremiah 6:15 Were they ashamed because of this repulsive behavior? They weren’t at all ashamed. They can no longer feel humiliation. Therefore, they will fall among the fallen. When I visit them, they will collapse, says Yahveh.

underkill

Long distance hiking is my sport of choice. Anyone who knows my wife and me is aware of that. A few years ago, after I completed a long stretch on the Appalachian Trail – over a thousand miles – I had a serious knee problem. Because my physician at the Veteran’s Administration health facility wanted me to stay off my knee for a while and give it a rest, I left the clinic with a pair of crutches. I hadn’t broken anything, so I didn’t really need crutches. It was overkill. I didn’t use them for long, because it was ridiculous. As soon as I could handle the weight on my knee, I stopped using the crutches.

Looking back on that, I am happy for my doctor’s treatment, because I would rather overtreat a problem than undertreat it, so that it gets worse.

That is what Jeremiah’s people were doing. They were ignoring their problem as if it didn’t exist. They were engaging in underkill. God could not let their rebellion and corruption continue. He had to send the invasion.

Lord, we ask you to search us and find every evil way that does not conform to your will, and heal us. Lead us to true spiritual health and wholeness.