Jeremiah 48:6
“Flee! Save your lives! Be like the juniper bush in the wilderness.”
What does Jeremiah 48:6 mean?
The people of Moab are being warned that judgment is coming and they need to escape quickly, not cling to their homes and possessions. The comparison to a juniper bush is striking because these hardy shrubs survive in the desert by being mobile in a way—their seeds scatter and take root in unexpected places, and they don't require fixed roots in one spot to live. Jeremiah is essentially saying: don't be so attached to your land and your way of life that you lose everything; be willing to move, to adapt, to survive however you can. There's something almost tender in this warning, even as it announces disaster—God is saying through the prophet, "I want you to live, even if living means becoming a refugee."