Jeremiah 10:19-22
When spiritual leaders abandon the Lord, the people are scattered and the land becomes desolate.
19 Woe is me because of my injury! My wound is serious; but I said, “Truly this is my grief, and I must bear it.”
20 My tent has been destroyed, and all my cords are broken. My children have gone away from me, and they are no more. There is no one to spread my tent any more, to set up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become brutish, and have not inquired of Yahweh. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks have scattered.
22 The voice of news, behold, it comes, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling place of jackals.
When spiritual leaders abandon the LORD, the people are scattered and the land becomes desolate.
To express the lament over Judah’s devastation while revealing that the destruction of the land results from failed leadership and covenant rebellion.
The Living God and the Worthless Idols of the Nations
The living LORD alone is Creator, King, and Portion of his people, while idols are breathless frauds; therefore Judah must abandon pagan fear, submit to the LORD's correction, and confess that human beings cannot direct their own steps.