Jeremiah 18:13
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.
The virgin of Israel is God's own people, Judah and Jerusalem. The very horrible thing they have done is to forget God, turn to vanity and worthless worship, and abandon the ancient, right and safe paths. That horrible thing includes refusing His call to turn from evil ways and instead choosing their own devices, plans and evil desires.
It is so shameful, unnatural and shocking that even the heathen nations are asked whether they have ever heard of such a thing. The surrounding words picture this refusal as abandoning what is life-giving and dependable. The verse belongs to a warning that God's dealings depend on choice, so that repentance can avert threatened judgment and desolation, while continued evil forfeits promised good, and therefore the people must turn from evil or face judgment.
The rebuke was given despite the light and evidence given to them. Applied to teachers, departing from God's ways and safe paths brings them under His rebuke and calls them to examine and judge themselves for harsh treatment of students and failure in care of the flock. Applied to the work centered in Battle Creek, disregarding repeated counsel to spread missionary work and resources among many cities and keeping it concentrated in one place through convenience, human wisdom and forgetfulness of God stands condemned.
Applied to leaders who need admonition and are not walking in the light, refusing God's messages, resisting appeals, and persisting proudly in a chosen wrong course show a spirit of rebellion, and God gives such people over to their own perverted imaginations.