Jeremiah 8:12

 Jeremiah 8:12 says, Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.  God asked if the people of Judah were ashamed that they committed an abomination, and then answered that they were not.  It is not whether we claim to be ashamed if we commit a sin, but whether God knows that we are that matters.  God said because of the sin of the people of Judah and their refusal to even acknowledge it and be ashamed of it that they were going to fall.  Verse thirteen adds, I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.  God said that He was going to remove all the good things that He had blessed the people of Judah with from them.  We as followers of Christ need to acknowledge that all good things come from God, and if He removes His protective hand from us, then we are going to fall.  Verse fourteen asks, Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.  The people of Judah were falling into despair, and asked why they were sitting still instead of going into the defensed cities, where they could remain silent because there was no need to complain because God had put them to silence.  They were basically blaming God instead of repenting and returning to Him.  How often do we hear people say that they cannot believe that God is letting something happen to them, when they should be praising God for His love and mercy even when their life seems to be going terribly wrong.  Verse fifteen adds, We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!  The people of Judah said they were looking for peace, but none came.  If we look for peace outside of the will of God, it is never going to be found.  Verse sixteen says, The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.  They had heard of the strength of the coming cavalry, still they did not return to God.  Verse seventeen declares, For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.  God said not only did the people of Judah have to worry about the coming army, but they had to worry about pestilences that He was going to send as well.  If we are out of God's will as Christians, the problems that the world can send our way are the least of our worries.  What God may do to cause us to repent and return to Him should be our basic concern.  Verse eighteen states, When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.  Jeremiah said he wished that he could find comfort in the situation, but he could not.  We can never find true comfort if we are out of God's will, and we should never find comfort in having to confront others who are, even if God directs us to.  Verse nineteen says,  Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?  God said that the people might cry out, but they didn't do so in repentance.  They continued to worship graven images.  Verse twenty adds, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.  I believe that God was saying that the time for repentance was past, and the people had not repented and therefore were not saved.  Verse twenty-one states, For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Jeremiah was very saddened by what was going to happen to the people of Judah, just as we should be saddened by what is going to happen to those who do not accept Jesus Crist as Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-two asks, Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?  Jeremiah asked if there was no way for the people to be healed, and there was if they had accepted it.  God is the balm for all our ailments, but if we do not put our faith and trust in Him, then we will never be healed spiritually.