Verse 8
The leaders of the people were no better than the ordinary Israelites. The priests, rulers, and (false) prophets all failed to direct the people to Yahweh and, instead, led them away from Him into unprofitable pursuits. One writer suggested that another wordplay with the name Baal may be lo’ yo’ilu, translated "things that did not profit." [Note: Harrison, Jeremiah and . . ., pp. 56-57.] A similar phrase, belo yo’il, occurs at the end of Jeremiah 2:11 and is translated "that which does not profit."
The priests should have encouraged the people to be faithful to the covenant and should have kept the sacrificial system pure. The governmental rulers (lit. shepherds) should have directed the people to the Lord rather than away from Him. And many professing prophets, instead of bringing messages from the Lord, brought alleged directions from Baal and followed vain pursuits.
"The reference to Baal here and elsewhere in the prophecy is to idols in general." [Note: Feinberg, p. 389.]
"Surely this has something to do with the message we must speak to our post-Christian world. We must treat men with love, we must treat them and talk to them humanly. But we must not tone down our message: the religious leaders of our day too are leading people astray." [Note: Schaeffer, p. 53.]
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