In Jeremiah, chapter eight, verses one to two, “At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.”
In Old Testament times, it was considered the ultimate sacrilege to leave the dead unburied. As a fitting punishment for their idolatry, God announced His intention of allowing the bones of the people to be exposed before the stars they loved to worship.
Though no real hurt can be done to a dead body, yet disgrace to the remains of wicked persons may alarm those yet alive; and this reminds us that the Divine justice and punishments extend beyond the grave. Not the living only, but the dead shall be exposed to the ruthless violence of the enemy, who will ransack the graves of the wealthier classes. The enemy, for greediness will rifle those graves and lay them before those idols, who in their lives worshipped, to see if they can help them. Whatever befalls us here, let us humble ourselves before God and seek his mercy.
But even then, the judgment has not come to a height. Even sinners long dead must yet bear the shame of their sins. “At that time,” points back to the “days come” in Jeremiah seven, verse thirty-two.