The Lord now speaks to the people of Jerusalem who have arrogantly assumed his protection in Jeremiah 21:13. He says to them, I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds.
The intention of the covenant was never to simply have a people who went through the motions of religious rituals in the temple. The clear standard of the covenant was that the people of Israel would love the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their might (Deuteronomy 6:5). They were supposed to serve the Lord faithfully with their whole lives. The evidence of this love for the Lord would be seen in the fruit of their daily deeds. It is this fruit that is totally lacking among the people and so now the Lord’s judgment is coming.
The Lord says, I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.
The reference to her forest
may be to the royal palace which is called the House of the Forest of Lebanon
in 1 Kings 7:2. This is due to the fact that a large amount of timber from Lebanon was used to build the palace.1 This also fits the context of this section which focuses on the failure of Judah’s kings. The Lord describes his judgment as a consuming fire that will not only destroy the palace but all that is around her,
probably meaning the whole city and its surrounds.
14 Je vous châtierai selon le fruit de vos œuvres, dit l'Eternel; Je mettrai le feu à votre forêt, Et il en dévorera tous les alentours.