8:16,17
Dan was close to the northern border, so they would be the first to hear the coming of the invading army. The purpose of the army is made clear. They have come to “devour the land and everything in it”, including the cities. Then God uses the analogy of vipers being among them. And these would be vipers that could not be charmed. No amount of diplomacy would stop them, they could not be bought off. This reference to vipers perhaps helps us to understand more deeply the depth of the insult in the times when John the Baptist and Jesus referred to the people or the religious leaders as a brood of vipers.
8:18
Jeremiah then speaks to the Lord. Jeremiah did not have a ministry of condemnation, he was a prophet. A prophet delivered the word of God, the truth of God, but he was also part of the people. Jeremiah was worn out by the depths of the destruction, the judgement, that he was having to speak about. His heart was faint within him. He called out to God his comforter. It is worth remembering that in Jeremiah, that as well as all the judgement, we get insight into God’s working with Jeremiah as a person. Jeremiah was no mere instrument. He was someone whom God had formed in the womb.
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