"Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed time;
the turtle dove and the swallow and the crane observe the
time of their coming; but my people know not the law of
the Lord."
"Is that so?" queried one of the Jerusalem prophets, with a sneer. In his reply, he pointed out that both the laws of the religion and the laws of the State were known to the priests and prophets, in whose charge were the Temple and the government, and were obeyed by them and the people. With sweeping gestures he emphasized the prosperity of the people and the peace of the country. "Thou art the disturber of the peace," he concluded hotly. "Leave the Temple and the State to the wise men, the scribes, the priests and prophets in Jerusalem, and all will be well."
"The same kind of argument," thought Jeremiah, as he listened attentively to the speaker. "They always fail to grasp the vital things that God demands of them." In his rejoinder, therefore, Jeremiah came back forcibly:
"How do ye say, 'We are wise and the law of the Lord is with us!' But, behold, the false pen of the scribes hath made falsehood of it. The wise men are put to shame. Lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord.
"And what manner of wisdom is in them? Every one, from the least even unto the greatest, is given to covetousness; from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
"And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace."
Instantly there came to Jeremiah's mind the story of the Kingdom of Israel with its deceitful priests and false prophets, who, at Bethel and Shiloh, taught and preached untruths about God—and the sad end of them all. They, too, had thought everything was well with them and their sanctuary and the peace of the land. So Jeremiah continued:
"Then go now to my sanctuary which is in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at first and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.
"And now because ye have done all these deeds, and although I spoke to you insistently, ye have not heeded, and although I called you, ye have not answered, therefore I will do to the house, which ye call by My name, in which ye trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh."
This speech started several commotions in different parts of the crowd. From the extreme edge, to the right of the speakers, one man began to come forward, shouting: