Jeremiah 9: Why Judgment?

God isn't punishing His people for no reason.  As He prepares to discipline them severely, the Lord wants the Israelites to understand why they are about to suffer.

So God speaks through His prophet Jeremiah: "Who is wise enough to understand this?  To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, so that they may declare it?  Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?  And the Lord says: Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, or walked in accordance with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their ancestors taught them" (vs. 12-14).

As a father, I can relate to this desire on God's heart to educate the people about their judgment.  When I had to correct or discipline my children, I always felt it was important for them to understand a) how they had gotten into trouble and b) how the punishment was a direct result for their disobedience.  

God does the same here.  He lays out the conditions that have led up to this moment of wrath.  The people have disobeyed God's law and gone after false gods instead.  Everything else can be chalked up to the disposition of their hearts and their unwillingness to submit and obey the God of Israel.

God then outlines the consequences - exile.  "Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am feeding this people with wormwood, and giving them poisonous water to drink.  I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them" (vs. 15-16).  God puts His testimony into the mouth of His prophet Jeremiah so that this generation, as well as others yet to come, will understand why the judgment happened.