Why does the Lord ask if men rise when they fall and if they return when they turn away?

This section (Jeremiah 8:4–10:25) is described by most commentators as a miscellaneous collection of sayings from Jeremiah’s ministry, probably during the early period of Jehoiakim’s reign which was about 609 BC. The way the diverse material in this section has been brought together has possibly been shaped by Jeremiah’s circumstances as he used his time of hiding from Jehoiakim to bring together various visions and revelations he had been given in the earlier years of the king’s reign.¹ Even if the structure of the section is not always clear, there are very clear themes that hold the material together: Judah’s stubborn incurable rebellion and the inevitable judgment that will follow. The whole section is a tapestry of indictment and lament, which when woven together shows the great tragedy of the situation.²

 In the opening verse of the section Jeremiah uses the form of a disputation with three questions that highlight Judah’s stubborn rebellion³ These questions may also resemble proverbial sayings that express what was considered to be common wisdom or common sense.⁴

The point of the questions is obvious. Generally speaking, when someone falls, they get up again and when someone turns away, they return. That would be the normal and wise thing to do. Jeremiah has returned to the very important Hebrew word shuv, to turn or to return.⁵ The focus of the Lord’s questions, as the following verses show, is Judah's stubborn and foolish refusal to do the obvious and wise thing by repenting and returning to the Lord.