Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it? Who is the man wise enough to understand this?This phrase challenges the reader to seek wisdom and understanding, echoing the biblical theme that true wisdom comes from God. The Hebrew word for "wise" is "חָכָם" (chakam), which implies not just intellectual knowledge but a deep, God-given insight. In the context of Jeremiah, this wisdom is necessary to comprehend the reasons behind God's judgment on Judah. Historically, wisdom literature in the Bible, such as Proverbs, emphasizes that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ( Proverbs 9:10). This phrase invites the reader to reflect on their own pursuit of wisdom and understanding in light of divine revelation. To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it?
This part of the verse underscores the importance of divine revelation. The "mouth of the LORD" signifies God's direct communication, often through prophets. The Hebrew word for "spoken" is "דִּבֶּר" (dibber), indicating a formal declaration. In the historical context of Jeremiah, God communicated His will and warnings through the prophet, calling the people to repentance. The phrase suggests that understanding God's message requires not only wisdom but also a willingness to listen to His appointed messengers. It challenges believers to consider how they receive and respond to God's word today. Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through?
This vivid imagery of destruction serves as a stark warning of the consequences of disobedience to God. The Hebrew word for "destroyed" is "שָׁמֵם" (shamem), which conveys a sense of desolation and ruin. Historically, this reflects the Babylonian invasion and the subsequent devastation of Judah. The phrase "scorched like a desert" paints a picture of utter barrenness, symbolizing the spiritual and physical consequences of turning away from God. This serves as a powerful reminder of the seriousness of sin and the need for repentance. It calls believers to examine their own lives and the state of their spiritual "land," urging them to seek restoration through God's grace. Persons / Places / Events 1. JeremiahA prophet called by God to deliver messages of warning and hope to the people of Judah. He is known for his lamentations over the spiritual state of the nation. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant God of Israel, who speaks through His prophets to guide, warn, and instruct His people. 3. The Land of JudahThe southern kingdom of Israel, which is facing destruction due to the people's disobedience and idolatry. 4. Wise ManA hypothetical figure who possesses the wisdom to understand and explain the reasons behind the nation's calamities. 5. Destruction and ScorchingThe consequences of Judah's unfaithfulness, leading to a land that is desolate and uninhabitable. Teaching Points The Need for Godly WisdomTrue understanding comes from God. We must seek His wisdom to comprehend the spiritual realities of our lives and the world around us. The Consequences of DisobedienceDisobedience to God leads to destruction and desolation. We must examine our lives and ensure we are living in accordance with His will. The Role of Prophets and TeachersGod uses His messengers to convey His truth. We should be attentive to those who faithfully teach God's Word and seek to understand His messages. The Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentSpiritual discernment is crucial in recognizing the signs of the times and understanding God's purposes. We should pray for discernment and wisdom. The Call to RepentanceThe desolation of the land serves as a call to repentance. We must turn from our sins and seek God's forgiveness and restoration. Bible Study Questions 1. What qualities make someone "wise enough" to understand God's messages, and how can we cultivate these qualities in our own lives? 2. How does the destruction of the land in Jeremiah 9:12 serve as a warning for us today regarding the consequences of turning away from God? 3. In what ways can we ensure that we are listening to and understanding the messages God is communicating to us through His Word and His messengers? 4. How does the concept of fearing the LORD as the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7) relate to the need for understanding in Jeremiah 9:12? 5. What steps can we take to develop spiritual discernment and recognize when God is calling us to repentance and change? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 29:24-28This passage explains that the land becomes desolate due to the people's abandonment of the covenant with God, similar to the situation in Jeremiah 9:12. Proverbs 1:7Highlights the importance of fearing the LORD as the beginning of wisdom, which is necessary to understand God's judgments. Isaiah 6:9-10Describes the people's inability to understand God's messages due to their hardened hearts, paralleling the need for a wise man in Jeremiah 9:12. People JeremiahPlaces Ammon, Edom, Egypt, Gilead, Jerusalem, Moab, ZionTopics Able, Burned, Burnt, Clear, Cross, Declare, Desert, Destruction, Explain, Goes, Instructed, Laid, Mouth, None, Passes, Passeth, Passing, Perished, Perisheth, Ruined, Spake, Spoken, Understand, Understandeth, Waste, Wherefore, Wilderness, WiseDictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 9:12 8365 wisdom, human Jeremiah 9:12-13 8355 understanding Jeremiah 9:12-14 5770 abandonment Library India's Ills and England's Sorrows
It would seem as if some men had been sent into this world for the very purpose of being the world's weepers. God's great house is thoroughly furnished with everything, everything that can express the thoughts and the emotions of the inhabitant, God hath made. I find in nature, plants to be everlasting weepers. There by the lonely brook, where the maiden cast away her life, the willow weeps for ever; and there in the grave yard where men lie slumbering till the trumpet of the archangel shall awaken …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857"Boast not Thyself of To-Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." There are some peculiar gifts that God hath given to man in his first creation, and endued his nature with, beyond other living creatures, which being rightly ordered and improved towards the right objects, do advance the soul of man to a wonderful height of happiness, that no other sublunary creature is capable of. But by reason of man's fall into sin, these are quite disordered and turned out of …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Characters and Names of Messiah
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. S uch was the triumphant exultation of the Old Testament Church! Their noblest hopes were founded upon the promise of MESSIAH; their most sublime songs were derived from the prospect of His Advent. By faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, they considered the gracious declarations …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 How the Simple and the Crafty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 12.) Differently to be admonished are the simple and the insincere. The simple are to be praised for studying never to say what is false, but to be admonished to know how sometimes to be silent about what is true. For, as falsehood has always harmed him that speaks it, so sometimes the hearing of truth has done harm to some. Wherefore the Lord before His disciples, tempering His speech with silence, says, I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now (Joh. xvi. 12). …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Original Sin
Q-16: DID ALL MANKIND FALL IN ADAM'S FIRST TRANSGRESSION? A: The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him, by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression. 'By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,' &c. Rom 5:12. Adam being a representative person, while he stood, we stood; when he fell, we fell, We sinned in Adam; so it is in the text, In whom all have sinned.' Adam was the head …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Thoughts Upon Worldly-Riches. Sect. Ii.
TIMOTHY after his Conversion to the Christian Faith, being found to be a Man of great Parts, Learning, and Piety, and so every way qualified for the work of the Ministry, St. Paul who had planted a Church at Ephesus the Metropolis or chief City of all Asia, left him to dress and propagate it, after his departure from it, giving him Power to ordain Elders or Priests, and to visit and exercise Jurisdiction over them, to see they did not teach false Doctrines, 1 Tim. i. 3. That they be unblameable in …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life The Knowledge of God
'The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' I Sam 2:2. Glorious things are spoken of God; he transcends our thoughts, and the praises of angels. God's glory lies chiefly in his attributes, which are the several beams by which the divine nature shines forth. Among other of his orient excellencies, this is not the least, The Lord is a God of knowledge; or as the Hebrew word is, A God of knowledges.' Through the bright mirror of his own essence, he has a full idea and cognisance …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Jeremiah 9:12 NIVJeremiah 9:12 NLTJeremiah 9:12 ESVJeremiah 9:12 NASBJeremiah 9:12 KJV
Jeremiah 9:12 Commentaries
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