Therefore thus says the Lord GOD;
Behold, my anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
All Commentaries on Jeremiah 7:20 Go To Jeremiah 7
John Chrysostom
AD 407
This is why God threatens punishment, so that by fear he may destroy contempt, and when the threat alone is sufficient to cause fear in us he does not permit us to undergo the actual trial. See, for instance, what he says to Jeremiah, “Do you not see what they do? Their fathers light a fire, their children gather sticks together, their women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven.” It is to be feared lest the same kind of thing be said also concerning us.