What is the meaning of Jeremiah 14:10? This is what the LORD says about this people • The verse opens with a divine announcement, marking the words that follow as direct revelation, just as in Jeremiah 2:4 and 7:1. • “This people” refers to Judah as a collective body that has repeatedly rejected God’s covenant love (Jeremiah 11:10). • The phrase underscores personal accountability: God addresses them as a group yet still holds each individual responsible (Ezekiel 18:30). “Truly they love to wander” • “Love” reveals that sin is not merely accidental; the nation’s heart is inclined toward rebellion (Hosea 11:7). • “Wander” pictures straying from the safe path God laid out (Psalm 119:10). • Isaiah 53:6 mirrors the idea: “All of us like sheep have gone astray; each has turned to his own way.” • God’s charge is relational, not merely legal: the people prefer distance over fellowship with Him. “they have not restrained their feet” • Unchecked “feet” symbolize continual movement toward sin (Proverbs 1:15-16). • Earlier, Jeremiah pleaded, “Keep your feet from going bare and your throat from thirst” (Jeremiah 2:25), but Judah ignored the warning. • The absence of self-control contrasts with the righteous who “ponder the path of their feet” (Proverbs 4:26). “So the LORD does not accept them” • Sinful wandering severs fellowship; God cannot endorse rebellion (Isaiah 59:2). • Sacrifices offered without obedience are rejected (Jeremiah 6:20; Amos 5:21-24). • Acceptance hinges on repentance and faith, not empty ritual (Micah 6:6-8). “He will now remember their iniquity” • “Remember” here means to call to account, the opposite of forgiveness (Jeremiah 16:10-12). • God had long shown patience (2 Peter 3:9), but persistent refusal leaves no room for mercy left unclaimed. • Exodus 34:7 affirms that while He is compassionate, He “will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” “and punish them for their sins” • The justice of God moves from warning to action (Jeremiah 4:18; 5:12-13). • Consequences will include famine, sword, and exile—judgments already outlined in Leviticus 26:21-33. • Romans 6:23 echoes the universal principle: “For the wages of sin is death,” highlighting that sin always yields a cost. • Yet even judgment aims at restoration for the remnant who will turn back (Jeremiah 24:5-7). summary Jeremiah 14:10 is God’s clear indictment of Judah’s willful wandering. Loving their own paths and refusing restraint, they forfeit God’s acceptance. Divine patience gives way to just remembrance and punishment of sin. The verse warns that habitual, unrepentant disobedience severs fellowship with the Lord, yet even His discipline is designed to draw His people back to wholehearted faithfulness. |
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