Commentary - Jeremiah 50:6-7

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but potent passage, the Lord, through His prophet Jeremiah, delivers a diagnosis of Israel's spiritual disease. This is not some external affliction; it is a profound internal corruption that has left them vulnerable and exposed. The people of God are described as lost sheep, a condition brought about not by their own simple wandering, but by the direct malfeasance of their shepherds. The leadership, both civil and religious, has actively led them into idolatry and apostasy. This has resulted in a corporate amnesia; they have forgotten their true home, their resting place in Yahweh. Consequently, they have become prey for their enemies, who devour them while cynically absolving themselves of guilt. The adversaries recognize, with a kind of pagan clarity that shames Israel, that the covenant people have sinned against their own God, the very habitation of righteousness and the historical hope of their fathers. This passage is a stark reminder of the responsibilities of leadership and the devastating consequences of covenant unfaithfulness.

Outline

Context In Jeremiah

Jeremiah 50 is situated within a larger collection of oracles against the nations. The primary focus of this chapter, and the next, is the coming judgment upon Babylon. But as is common in the prophets, the Lord does not pronounce judgment on the pagan nations in a vacuum. He is always mindful of His own people. Here, in the midst of a prophecy detailing the downfall of the empire that will hold them captive, God pauses to explain why His people ended up in such a predicament in the first place. It was not because Babylon was sovereign, but because Yahweh is. Their exile was not an accident of geopolitics; it was a chastisement for covenant rebellion. This passage serves as a divine commentary on the justice of the coming exile, grounding it squarely in the sin of Israel and the failure of her leaders.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

Jeremiah 50:6

“My people have become lost sheep;” The Lord begins with a term of endearment that is simultaneously a statement of ownership. These are "My people." They belong to Him by covenant, by redemption from Egypt, by every promise He has ever made to them. Their identity is wrapped up in Him. But their condition is one of disorientation. They are "lost sheep." A sheep is not a creature designed for independence. It is utterly dependent on the shepherd for guidance, provision, and protection. To be a lost sheep is to be in a state of mortal peril, vulnerable, helpless, and unable to find the way back on its own. This is not just a description of a few individuals who have wandered off; it is the corporate condition of the covenant community. They have, as a body, lost their way.

“Their shepherds have led them astray.” Here is the indictment, and it is laid squarely at the feet of the leadership. The sheep did not get lost on their own. They were actively misled. The "shepherds" here are the kings, the priests, and the prophets, the very men entrusted with the spiritual and civil well being of the nation. Instead of leading the people into the green pastures of God's law, they have led them into the wilderness of apostasy. This is a foundational principle of biblical government, whether in the family, the church, or the state: leaders are responsible. Authority is not a platform for self-aggrandizement; it is a stewardship for which a strict account will be required. When the people go astray, God first looks to the shepherds.

“They have made them turn away on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill” This is not aimless wandering. This is directed misdirection. The shepherds have turned them away to a specific destination: the mountains and hills. In the Old Testament, this is the consistent geography of idolatry. The "high places" were the centers of pagan worship, where Israel committed spiritual adultery with false gods. The picture is one of restless, frantic religious activity. They are not settled, but are constantly moving "from mountain to hill," from one idol to the next, from one empty promise to another, seeking a satisfaction they will never find apart from their true Shepherd. This is the nature of all sin; it is a chasing after the wind, a perpetual motion that never arrives at peace.

“And have forgotten their resting place.” This is the tragic result of their shepherd-led apostasy. They have developed a corporate, covenantal Alzheimer's. They have forgotten their resting place. This is more than just forgetting the location of the Temple. Their resting place is Yahweh Himself. He is their Sabbath, their security, their home. In Him alone is there true peace and stillness for the soul. To forget Him is to be condemned to a life of anxious wandering. This forgetting is not a passive lapse of memory; it is the necessary consequence of turning away. You cannot serve two masters, and you cannot remember your true home while you are busy building shrines on every pagan hill.

Jeremiah 50:7

“All who came out against them have devoured them;” The spiritual condition has direct physical consequences. Because they are lost sheep without a shepherd's protection, they have become food for predators. The Assyrians, the Babylonians, and all the surrounding nations have come and devoured them. God's covenant hedge of protection has been removed, and the wolves have come rushing in. This is the outworking of the covenant curses detailed in Deuteronomy. When God's people forsake Him, He turns them over to their enemies. He does not do this because He has ceased to love them, but because this is the severe mercy required to bring them to their senses.

“And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty,” Here is a fascinating and damning piece of testimony. The pagan nations, in their devouring of Israel, declare their own innocence. This is, on one level, the typical self-justification of the wicked. But on another level, their reasoning is sound, even if their motives are corrupt. They are not guilty before Yahweh for executing His stated judgment. They are simply the rod of His anger. Their statement is an unwitting acknowledgment of God's sovereign justice.

“Inasmuch as they have sinned against Yahweh, who is the abode of righteousness, Even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers.’” The pagans have a clearer theological vision than Israel does at this point. They correctly identify the root cause of Israel's destruction: they "have sinned against Yahweh." The enemies know who Israel's God is, and they know that He is a God who does not tolerate sin in His own people. They identify Him with two glorious titles. First, He is the "abode of righteousness." He is the very source and standard of all that is right and just. To sin against Him is to violate the fundamental structure of reality. Second, He is "the hope of their fathers." This points to the historical, covenantal nature of their relationship with God. Their sin is not just a breach of abstract principle; it is a betrayal of their own history, a spurning of the God who called Abraham, redeemed Isaac, and blessed Jacob. The pagans can see the treachery of it all, even as God's own people wander in a self-induced fog.

Application

The principles here are perennial. First, the church today must recognize that her primary dangers are internal, not external. And the chief internal danger is always a failure of leadership. When pastors, elders, and fathers cease to be shepherds and become hirelings or, worse, wolves, the flock will inevitably be scattered and led astray into the idolatries of the age.

Second, we must understand that idolatry is not simply the bowing down to crude statues. It is the restless "mountain to hill" pursuit of anything that promises rest, security, or meaning apart from Jesus Christ. It is the worship of political solutions, the trust in economic prosperity, the pursuit of personal peace and affluence. These are the modern high places, and they lead to the same end: forgetting our true resting place.

Finally, when the church is devoured by her adversaries, when she is mocked and scorned by the world, the first question we must ask is not "Why are they so wicked?" but rather "Where have we sinned against Yahweh?" The world, in its own cynical way, often sees our hypocrisy more clearly than we do. Our only hope is to remember our true resting place, who is Christ Himself. He is the Good Shepherd who was devoured on our behalf, so that we, His lost sheep, might be found. He is the abode of righteousness who became sin for us. He is the hope of our fathers, and the only hope for our children. Repentance means turning from the mountains of our own making and returning to Him, our true and only home.