Context No. 4100 of 4322 · Jeremiah

Jeremiah 9:7-11: in context

7Therefore the LORD of Armies says, “Behold, I will melt them and test them; for how should I deal with the daughter of my people? 8Their tongue is a deadly arrow. It speaks deceit. One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart, he waits to ambush him. 9Shouldn’t I punish them for these things?” says the LORD. “Shouldn’t my soul be avenged on a nation such as this? 10I will weep and wail for the mountains, and lament for the pastures of the wilderness, because they are burned up, so that no one passes through; Men can’t hear the voice of the livestock. Both the birds of the sky and the animals have fled. They are gone. 11“I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling place of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”

God brings a charge against his people that centers on their speech: their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceit; with his mouth each speaks peaceably to his neighbor, but in his heart he plans an ambush. The problem was not open hostility but a hidden treachery, friendly words on the surface masking harmful intentions underneath.

There is a searching indictment here of a particular kind of sin: the double, deceitful tongue. It is one thing to be openly hostile; it is another, and in some ways worse, to smile and speak kindly while harboring ill will, to say peaceable words while planning harm. God sees this treachery of speech and heart, and he hates it; the deceitful tongue is a deadly arrow. This calls us to examine the integrity of our own words and hearts. Do our friendly words match our inner intentions, or do we sometimes speak peace to someone's face while nursing resentment or planning to undermine them behind their back? God desires a heart and a tongue that agree, so that what we say to others reflects what we truly wish for them.

Do my friendly words to others match my true intentions toward them, or do I sometimes speak peace to someone's face while nursing ill will beneath, and will I seek the integrity of a sincere heart whose tongue and heart agree?

Sources

Jeremiah 9:8: "Their tongue is a deadly arrow. It speaks deceit. One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart, he waits to ambush him."
Jeremiah 9:7: "Behold, I will melt them and test them; for how should I deal with the daughter of my people?"
Psalm 55:21: "His mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was war."