7 "I have forsaken My house , I have abandoned My inheritance ; I have given the beloved of My soul Into the hand of her enemies . 8 "My inheritance has become to Me Like a lion in the forest ; She has roared e against Me; Therefore e I have come to hate her. 9 "Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me? Are the birds of prey against her on every side ? Go , gather all the beasts of the field , Bring them to devour ! 10 "Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard , They have trampled down My field ; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness . 11 "It has been made a desolation , Desolate , it mourns before Me; The whole land has been made desolate , Because no man lays it to heart . 12 "On all the bare heights in the wilderness Destroyers have come , For a sword of the Lord is devouring From one end of the land even to the other e ; There is no peace for anyone e . 13 "They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns , They have strained themselves to no profit . But be ashamed of your harvest Because of the fierce anger of the Lord ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 12:7-13
Commentary on Jeremiah 12:7-13
(Read Jeremiah 12:7-13)
God's people had been the dearly-beloved of his soul, precious in his sight, but they acted so, that he gave them up to their enemies. Many professing churches become like speckled birds, presenting a mixture of religion and the world, with its vain fashions, pursuits, and pollutions. God's people are as men wondered at, as a speckled bird; but this people had by their own folly made themselves so; and the beasts and birds are called to prey upon them. The whole land would be made desolate. But until the judgments were actually inflicted, none of the people would lay the warning to heart. When God's hand is lifted up, and men will not see, they shall be made to feel. Silver and gold shall not profit in the day of the Lord's anger. And the efforts of sinners to escape misery, without repentance and works answerable thereto, will end in confusion.