Jeremiah 13:20-22
Hidden sin eventually leads to public humiliation when God brings judgment upon a rebellious people.
20 Lift up your eyes, and see those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock?
21 What will you say, when he sets over you as head those whom you have yourself taught to be friends to you? Won’t sorrows take hold of you, as of a woman in travail?
22 If you say in your heart, “Why have these things come on me?” Your skirts are uncovered because of the greatness of your iniquity, and your heels suffer violence.
Hidden sin eventually leads to public humiliation when God brings judgment upon a rebellious people.
To warn Jerusalem of the approaching invaders and to expose the moral corruption that has brought humiliation and judgment upon the city.
After announcing the fall of Judah’s leadership and the coming exile in 13:18–19, Jeremiah expands the warning by exposing the failure of the nation’s shepherds and explaining the cause of the coming humiliation.
Jeremiah prophesied during the final decades before Judah’s fall to Babylon, when leadership failures and covenant violations had placed the nation in grave danger.
The Ruined Belt and the Shame of Judah’s Pride
Judah was made to cling to the LORD for his praise and honor, but pride, idolatry, and habitual evil have ruined her covenant nearness, bringing darkness, exile, public shame, and the urgent need for cleansing only God can give.