“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Replying to Alice, the Cheshire Cat said, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” “I don't much care where,” she answered. “Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cheshire Cat. The people of Jeremiah’s day had also lost their way. Disoriented, they needed a landmark, a roadmap, a set of directions. Like Alice in Wonderland, they had come to a crossroads, and Jeremiah wants them to carefully consider where they want to get to. Since their destiny depends on the decision, he urges them to choose wisely: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (v 16). He has been warning them of the coming judgment. An enemy will descend from the north. And Benjamin, the tribe which had remained loyal to David’s dynasty and had not been transported to Assyria with the other ten tribes, is advised to flee. Though they are located north of Jerusalem, they are not told to flee south to find their refuge in Judah’s capital city. Benjamin is advised to flee away from Jerusalem (v 1), for this town will be utterly destroyed (v 2-9). Of course, such a message does not make Jeremiah a popular figure. People don’t want to hear this gloom and doom. The word of God was offensive to them; they took “no pleasure in it.” They preferred listening to other religious leaders who were not addressing contemporary sins or calling for any moral reformation. As spiritual quack-doctors, they were passing out band-aids when heart surgery was needed. These preachers delivered soothing talks, giving false assurances for busy people. It’s what everyone wanted to hear (5:31), and the clergy deluded themselves into thinking their messages were timely and helpful. Far from being ashamed, “they did not know how to blush” (v 10-15). When Jeremiah tells them to “ask for the ancient paths,” he wasn't suggesting they live in the nostalgic past or embrace tradition for its own sake. He was calling them to walk, here and now, according to the unchanging, eternally relevant Word of God. The ancient path is the way marked out in Scripture, the only way to find true peace and rest for your soul. This good and peaceful way was set before the people, but they wanted nothing to do with it. Outwardly religious, their hearts had wandered far from God. So disaster will fall upon Judah. The northern army of Babylon will show them no mercy (v 16-26). And Jeremiah’s ministry serves as a divine crucible, exposing the rebellious hearts of people, and showing why “the LORD has rejected them” (v 27-30). For further meditation: