Through the prophet Jeremiah, God  accused Judah of defiling their land.  The last few summers here in Northern Minnesota the fresh, crip, clear summer days have been defiled by smoke pollution from the forest fires in Canada. There have been clean air advisories, warning people to stay inside because of the bad air.  It is defiled (polluted).  Like Judea, many in our day, can not see how spiritually defied our land has become.  God had given us a fertile land.  “I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce.  But you  came and defied my land and made my inheritance detestable” (Jer. 2:7). As a nation we are no longer fertile (filled with hope and promise). 

The prophet was pointing to their worship of idols as the source of pollution.  But they were living in denial. In dramatic fashion, the prophet says, “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals'”?  Then in vivid imagery the prophet asks them to look at the evidence, “See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done.  You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving – in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her” (Jer. 2:23-24).  In the next verse comes their rely.  “I can’t help it.  I’m addicted to alien gods, I can’t quit.” 

The people are pictured like a “camel in heat” who is crisscrossing her tracks as she wanders aimlessly about. “It is a description of an animal consumed by carnal lust.  In like manner Judah eagerly sought out its idols.  The idols did not have to seek the people.  They were acting like people obsessed, running after their desires until their shoes wore out or they were consumed by thirst.  Their response to his appeal was, ‘It’s no use!’ Like a person hooked on drugs or alcohol, Judah had no desire to give up its gods in spite of warnings of the consequences.” (Huey). 

Jeremiah warned Judah not to follow the example of Israel, even though they saw what happened to Israel.  Jeremiah says, “Israel treated it all so lightly – she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone.  So now the land has been polluted.  But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me.  She has only pretended to be sorry” (Jer. 3:9).  Later God warned Jeremiah of the people going, “backward and not forward.” ( Jer. 7:24). 

God called Jeremiah ” a tester of metals.”  He would be testing the will of the people.  “They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander.  They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly” (Jer. 6:28).  But his refining would not be successful, for “wicked are not purge out.  They are called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them” (Jer. 6:30).  They saw the prophets as a bunch of windbags.” “Nothing bad will happen to us, neither famine nor war will come our way. The prophets are all windbags. They speak nothing but nonsense” (Jer. 5:12-13 MSG).

Today our spiritual air is polluted with many idols and other gods, because we followed our passions.  We are going backward and not forward.  God has been testing our culture, finding it to be “rejected silver.”  We reject the voice of God, saying those folks are a bunch of windbags.  We continue to follow the stubborn inclinations of our hearts.  Could God be saying, “I have spoken and will not relent.  I have decided and will not turn back” (Jer. 4:28).