Read
Jeremiah Mourns
18I'm burdened with sorrow
and feel like giving up.
19In a foreign land
my people are crying.
Listen! You'll hear them say,
“Has the Lord deserted Zion?
Is he no longer its king?”
I hear the Lord reply,
“Why did you make me angry
by worshiping useless idols?”
20The people complain,
“Spring and summer
have come and gone,
but still the Lord
hasn't rescued us.”
21My people are crushed,
and so is my heart.
I am horrified and mourn.
22If medicine and doctors
may be found in Gilead,
why aren't my people healed?
1I wish that my eyes
were fountains of tears,
so I could cry day and night
for my people
who were killed.
2I wish I could go into the desert
and find a hiding place
from all who are treacherous
and unfaithful to God.
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
3The Lord replied:
Lies come from the mouths
of my people,
like arrows from a bow.
With each dishonest deed
their power increases,
and not one of them will admit
that I am God.
4Jeremiah, all your friends
and relatives
tell lies about you,
so don't trust them.
5They wear themselves out,
always looking for a new way
to cheat their friends.
6Everyone takes advantage
of everyone else,
and no one will admit
that I am God.
7And so I will purify
the hearts of my people
just as gold is purified
in a furnace.
I have no other choice.
8They say they want peace,
but this lie is deadly,
like an arrow that strikes
when you least expect it.
9Give me one good reason
not to punish them
as they deserve.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
Reflect
There are two movements to the drama of the text: Jeremiah’s prayer and God’s response.
Jeremiah’s prayer is one of desperation and anguish. He’s sick at heart and ready to call it quits (8:18). His people were distressed, depraved, and dislocated; with no hope of deliverance from God (8:19-20). All sense of consolation is gone. In the grip of dismay he asks God why his nation’s malady has not been healed (8:21-22). It’s too much for him to bear (9:1-2). His grief is a cry of sympathy for his people coupled with revulsion because of their many sins (adultery, idolatry, lying).
God’s response draws attention to the inevitability of judgment. There’s just cause for God’s judgment. His people have deserted him. And in so doing they even trained themselves to lie. That’s worse than bad. Little wonder that they’d exhausted themselves with sinning! (9:4-6).
When sin passes a point of no-return, God uses the fiery furnace of affliction to remove everything that’s not pure (9:7). How else can he deal with our sinful ways? Suffering purges sin. To reinforce the fact that this is the only action left open to him, God asks if there’s one good reason for them to not be punished as they deserve (9:9 – a repeated refrain, see 5:9, 29). Tragically, Jeremiah could find no reason to ask God to relent.
While this is a tale of doom and gloom, let’s not forget God’s grace. Judgment is exercised to get rid of sin, not to exterminate people. When we sin, God refines us to make us clean and acceptable (Malachi 3:3-4). He melts us down for one reason only – to make us pure as gold!
Respond
Lord, I look at the sin in me and around me, and I’m heartsick. While I know it will be painful, please refine me and make me pure. For your honour and glory, Amen.
Lawson Murray
Lawson is the President of Scripture Union Canada and the Managing Editor of theStory™. Lawson takes every opportunity to enthusiastically invite people of all ages to connect with Jesus and His Story. He says, “We have been given the greatest story ever - God's Story! Should we not, with all our might and energy immerse ourselves in it? I believe we should. For without the Story we really have nothing to offer the millions who hunger and thirst for something more. But, with God’s Story we have what everyone needs!” Publications: jumpintotheword - Bible Engagement Blog; iConnect: Life words for growth, for story, for community; Bible Engagement Basics; Seize the Day: Meditations for the Year.