Jeremiah was hated and derided by most of the leaders, religious and civic, and by most of the people as well. Why was this? It was because he preached the truth, the truth about their sin and the true state of the nation, and of how they stood with God, ie destined for judgement. However, his message was actually a message of salvation, a message of life, but because the people failed to repent all they got was a destiny of death. It is the same with the gospel. Society is quickly rejecting and deriding anything to do with the Bible, but the only path to life is the one mapped out in the gospel.
Having told the exiles how to live in captivity, he now gives a message of restoration. A time is coming when God will bring them back to their land, back to where they should be.
But first there is judgement. The coming days would be terrible, the siege of Jerusalem by Babylon would involve horrendous suffering, but eventually salvation would come. A salvation that would break the yoke of slavery. Verse 9 is a clear prophecy of the coming of Christ and His role. Note that we must serve someone, either we serve the enemy or we serve the Lord. One brings enslavement, the other freedom.
Judah would be disciplined, but there is an enormous difference between discipline and punishment. Note also that the salvation would not be easy. It would be a time of great turmoil.
The easy prophets of Jerusalem were saying there was no real problem. The truth was that, by human methods, their wound was incurable. There is nothing we can do in our own strength about our sin. Yet they would be cured, their enemies would be defeated but it would be done by the Lord and on His terms. This would involve restoration for Israel.
The restoration would be complete, a restoration of fruitfulness, of honour. But first must come the deluge.
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