Jeremiah

Jeremiah 8: The LORD alone can heal

Begin in prayer

Before we read Jeremiah’s grief over God’s people, let us come to the LORD together. Ask Him to soften our hearts, to bless our family, and to show us that only He can heal.

He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.

Psalms 147:3

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You alone can heal the wound sin makes, and help us to turn from our sin and trust Jesus. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The LORD says the bones of Judah’s kings, priests and prophets will be taken from their graves (verses 1 and 2). Verses 4 to 6 say that no one repents, and no one asks, “What have I done?” Even the stork and the swallow keep their seasons, yet God’s people do not know the LORD’s law (verse 7). Those who claim to be wise have rejected His word, and false peace is spoken where judgment is coming. The people plan to hide in the fortified cities, but the LORD has given them water of gall for their sin (verse 14). Jeremiah weeps over his people, and he asks in verse 22, “Is there no balm in Gilead?”

As you read Jeremiah 8, look for the answers:

• What do the people refuse to do, though the LORD listened and heard? (verses 5 and 6)
• What question does the LORD say no one asks about their wickedness? (verse 6)
• What does Jeremiah ask about the balm in Gilead? (verse 22)

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD alone can heal His people, and they refuse to return to Him.

Jeremiah wept over the hurt of God’s people, and his grief shows how serious their wound was (verses 18 and 21). Gilead was famous for its balm, a healing gum from trees, so the question asks why no cure can be found (verse 22). Their wound was their sin, and no false comfort could heal it (verses 11 and 15). The people looked for peace, yet found only dismay, because they had sinned against the LORD and refused to repent (verses 14 and 15). Serpents that cannot be charmed show that judgment would come even where people hoped for safety (verse 17). The LORD is the only true healer, and He is the only remedy for a people who will not return. Jesus is the Physician who heals sinners.

How does Jeremiah 8 show us that the LORD alone can heal His people, who refuse to return to Him?

The people refuse to return to God.

No one repents and asks, “What have I done?” (verse 6). The stork and the swallow keep their seasons, yet God’s people do not know the LORD’s law (verse 7). God’s people had forgotten the way home, and only He could bring them back.

False peace cannot heal a sinful heart.

The leaders healed the hurt of God’s people only slightly, saying “Peace, peace” when there was no peace (verse 11). The people looked for peace and found only dismay (verse 15). Only God can heal sin, and He sent Christ to bear the judgment that sin deserves.

Only the LORD can heal His people.

Jeremiah asks whether there is no balm in Gilead and no physician there (verse 22). Gilead was famous for its healing balm, so the question shows how deep the people’s need was. Jesus is the Physician who heals, and He is the only hope for those who turn to Him in repentance.

Memorize

Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? Why then isn’t the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

Jeremiah 8:22

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what false comfort am I trusting, and will I come to Jesus?

Jeremiah asks, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” The people had a wound that only God could heal, and they would not come to Him. The LORD had listened and heard, yet no one turned from their wickedness. Their sin was the wound, and they kept it hidden under false peace.

Jesus is the Physician who heals sinners, and He came to bear the wound that sin made. He took the penalty His people had earned and died for them. Through His death, God brings His people home to Himself, and His work is finished. It is enough for all who trust Him. On the third day He rose again, alive to heal and to save.

Repent of the false comfort you trust, and believe in Jesus, the Physician who heals. Turn from sin and come to Him for mercy. Every sinner who comes to Him this way is made clean, and He will never turn that person away. Come to Him asking for healing, and He will not refuse you.

Parent's note

Tell your children that only the LORD can heal the wound sin makes. Parents, you may want to explain the picture of the bones in verses 1 and 2 gently, in your own words. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He alone can heal, and bring the heart question to Him. Let every child who wants to pray say a short prayer to the Lord.

Israel, hope in Yahweh, for with Yahweh there is loving kindness. With him is abundant redemption.

Psalms 130:7

Lord, thank You that You alone can heal the wound sin makes. Please forgive our refusal to return to You, and bring each of us to Jesus, the Physician of sinners. Help us to repent and trust Him, and to stop looking for healing anywhere else. Heal us, and help us live for You this week. Amen.