Jeremiah confronted a nation far gone. The chosen people rejected obedience required by a relationship with the Lord and turned enthusiastically to the ways of the world. To wake them up, the Lord put his message into Jeremiah’s mouth:

This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

The Lord continued:

The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes. They set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Beth Hinnom to burn the sons and daughter in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.

The stunning reality of his people freely burning their own children alive to appease a demonic deity shocked even the Lord—nor did it enter my mind.

When enough people gain power and leave truth behind atrocities follow. Think of Nazi Germany exterminating Jews, or Mao Zedong’s terrors in China, or chattel slavery in the United States. Millions suffered due to the devaluing of human life and the rejection of basic dignities.

When truth perishes we’re all at risk. From history we learn that no nation or people group is immune to such devastating turns.

Always remember—the Word of God is truth. Cling to that truth. Live the truth found within every day, and speak truth whenever necessary. Because when truth perishes, hope perishes as well.

Jeremiah 7 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Joshua Hoehne