Jeremiah 8 · Grade 4
A People Who Did Not Return
Read and Think
God asked his people a common-sense question. When people fall, don't they rise up again? When someone turns away, don't they come back? Yet Jerusalem had turned away with a backsliding that never stopped. They held tightly to deceit and refused to return. No one stopped to ask what he had done.
God pointed to the birds. The stork, the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane all keep the seasons God built into them. They know when to travel and when to return. But God's own people did not know Yahweh's law, even though some claimed to be wise because they had it.
Jeremiah felt the coming trouble as his own. He mourned for the hurt of his people. Gilead was famous for its healing balm, so he asked whether there was no balm in Gilead and no physician there. The healing they needed would come only by turning back to God.
Show What You Know
What common-sense question did God ask?
What did the birds show?
What did the people not know?
What healing did the people need?
Word Bank Fill-In
Use the word bank to fill in each blank.
- asked his people a common-sense question.
- The , the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane all keep the seasons God built into them.
- Gilead was famous for its healing , so he asked whether there was no balm in Gilead and no physician there.
Think About It
The birds follow the rhythms God made. What are some good rhythms that help people stay close to God?
Jeremiah felt the hurt of his people as his own. How can we share in the sorrows of others?
Memory Verse
“Yes, the stork in the sky knows her appointed times. The turtledove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people don’t know Yahweh’s law.”
Jeremiah 8:7 (WEB)
Copy It
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for healing hurting people. Help me . Amen.
Take It Home
For families: talk about these together.
- Why is false peace harmful?
- How can people find real healing?
Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.