Lesson 5 - Jer. 14:7-15, 19-22 - SEEKING GOD'S MERCY IN THE MIDST OF ADVERSITY
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Jer. 8:13-9:1, we heard Jeremiah (and God) deliver a lament, a type of liturgical poem in which people express grief over their fate when facing an inevitable catastrophe. It announced the sound of an army coming from the north that was so large that you could hear their horses snorting and feel the ground quaking beneath your feet. The walled cities would not protect them and the enemy would engulf them like a swarm of poisonous snakes whose bites would be fatal. Despite their backslidden, idol-worshiping ways, the people mistakenly assumed YHWH would never allow Jerusalem and its Temple to be destroyed-but the Lord declared that this time He would not protect them. We saw Jeremiah and God mourn the fate of the Judahite people in much the same way that a broken-hearted parent grieves for a foolish child who will be forced to suffer the consequences of his or her sin. Although the prophet weeps day and night for his people, there are not enough tears to avert the coming disaster. The main truth of this lesson is that there are no human remedies for the spiritual illness of sin Jeremiah informed the people that human things like the "balm of Gilead and physicians" (8:22) would not cure their problem; they needed something that was more than skin-deep, something that could reach their souls, and only God can do this. In this case, the people have stubbornly refused to repent, and their fate is sealed. It's too late.
This week, we'll fast-forward six chapters to Jer. 14:7-12, 19-22, where we will hear Jeremiah intercede before the Lord to spare His people from the sentence, He has pronounced on them. Our lesson text is part of a larger section that extends from 14:1 to 15:9. The first six verses, which we skip, describe a severe drought that has fallen all across Judah that has driven the people into a panic. They have looked everywhere for water but "have returned with their vessels empty" (v. 3); the ground is cracked and there is no grass or vegetation and the animals are distressed (vv. 4-6). Before we get into the heart of the lesson, we must understand two things: (1) Drought is one type of curse (or punishment) the Lord God promised to inflict on the children of Israel (of which Judah is a part) if they violated their covenant with Him (Deut. 28:22-24); and (2) the people of Judah had knowingly breached their covenant with the Lord by violating the First and Second Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before Me. And you shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God..." (Ex. 20:3-4).
Read Jer. 14:7-9 - DO NOT FORSAKE US!
7 "Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for Your name's sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned against You. 8 "O Hope of Israel, Its Savior in time of distress, Why are You like a stranger in the land Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night? 9 "Why are You like a man dismayed, Like a mighty man who cannot save? Yet You are in our midst, O LORD, And we are called by Your name; Do not forsake us!"
v. 7: "Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for Your name's sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned against You." -This is the voice of Jeremiah, interceding on behalf of the people, imploring God to send relief from this terrible drought. The prophet admits their iniquities and their apostasy. He confesses that their sins have been great-as bad as it can get. The two terms, "iniquities" (immoral deeds) and "apostasies" (false beliefs and worship of man-made idols), indicates a complete breach of their part of the covenant to be faithful to the Lord, their God, and only Him.
v. 8a: "O Hope of Israel, Its Savior in time of distress" - Petitioning on behalf of the people, the prophet acknowledges that the Lord God is the "Hope of Israel" and their "Savior in time of distress." We might classify this as a flattery tactic. Jeremiah reminds God that He has always been there for them when they needed Him. He saved Israel in the past and can certainly save them again.
v. 8b: "Why are You like a stranger in the land Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?" - But now, the Lord seems to be absent, a "stranger". Why would that be? Where did He go? This could be seen as a guilt tactic, the kind of thing a mother might hang on a frequently absent son, i.e., "I hardly ever see you-don't you love me anymore?" Heard that one?
v. 9: "Why are You like a man dismayed, Like a mighty man who cannot save?" - The prophet now moves to a different tactic. He seems to be comparing the Lord to a man who is watching a huge catastrophe take place, standing there just looking on but doing nothing to help. Why not?
v. 9b: "Yet You are in our midst, O LORD," - The Lord is omnipresent; He must be in their "midst." Although the prophet can't see Him, he knows the Lord is there. He knows He can see and hear him.
v. 9c: "And we are called by Your name;" - This is the 'clincher.' The prophet reminds the Lord that these people (and only them) "are called" by His "name"-they are directly associated with Him as the people of YHWH. If anything, dreadful happens to them, it will reflect on YHWH's reputation.
v. 9d: "Do not forsake us!" -This is really the bottom line: After all else has been said, the prophet begs that the Lord will "not forsake" His people. To please save them in spite of themselves.
Read Jer. 14:10-12 - DO NOT PRAY FOR THESE PEOPLE
10 Thus says the LORD to this people, "Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account." 11 So the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword, famine and pestilence."
v. 10a: "Thus says the LORD to this people, "Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check." This is the Lord's response to Jeremiah's petition. Neither the flattery nor the attempts to influence God has had the desired effect. Yes, the Lord remembers them, but what He remembers is that they "love to wander" (i.e., unfaithful) and cannot keep "their feet in check" (i.e., being careless to notice where their feet were taking them).
v. 10b: "Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account." - Now, because these people have been habitually unfaithful, the Lord will not treat them as worthy. Yes, the Lord will remember them, but it is their sin and iniquity that He remembers. The prophet's confession for the people had come too late. Not his fault, but theirs. The Lord will put His people through a fire, but it will be a refiner's fire rather than a destroyer's fire. The redemption will be a long time coming, but it will come. At this point in their history, undeserved grace would not help these people. What they needed was tough love.
v. 11: "So the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for the welfare of this people." - In this verse, we see a rare instance when the Lord will not accept intercession. No matter what Jeremiah pled on behalf the people, God would not act--Had already made up His mind they must suffer the consequences. Compare this with Moses' intercession for the people on Mt. Sinai when God was prepared to destroy them (Ex. 32:9-14). This raises a theological question of whether is ever right to give up praying for someone. A person could pray for someone to come to repentance by way of divine judgment. In this instance, the continual breaking of covenant led inescapably to divine judgment.
v. 12a: "When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them." - Any efforts by the people to make the required sacrifices and go through prescribed rituals would not be accepted-God would not extend atonement to them. It's a matter of too little, too late.
v. 12b: "Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword, famine and pestilence." - Their continual violation of their covenant with the Lord demanded judgment "by the sword, famine and pestilence." The Lord would preserve a remnant but the free nation of Israel never arose again. And the modern secular state of Israel as a home for ethnic Jews does not qualify as a substitute.
Read Jer. 14:13-18 - I HAVE NEITHER SENT THEM NOR COMMANDED THEM
13 But, "Ah, Lord God!" I said, "Look, the prophets are telling them, 'You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.'" 14 Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them-yet they keep saying, 'There will be no sword or famine in this land'-by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end!
v. 13: "But, "Ah, Lord God!" I said, "Look, the prophets are telling them, 'You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.'" - Jeremiah, not giving up, shifts to another approach: He suggests that the people weren't completely responsible for their behavior-that they had allowed themselves to be mislead by prophets promising peace and prosperity. He even seems to imply that the Lord might be in some way responsible because he allowed these prophets to speak to the people.
v. 14: "Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds." - Here, the Lord very emphatically informs Jeremiah that He has not sent those prophets; that their prophecies were totally their own fabrications , and were in no way messages from Him. In fact, the people, by believing them, had completely misunderstood their covenant with Him by allowing themselves to think that continual disobedience would not bring an inevitable judgment. In short, they should have known better.
v. 15: "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them-yet they keep saying, 'There will be no sword or famine in this land'-by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end!" - Here the Lord delivers His own clincher: Because the false prophets had denied the coming disaster and the associated famine, they would die because of it. This would be proof that they were false-that Lord had not sent them.
Read Jer. 14:19-22 - THEREFORE WE HOPE IN YOU
19 Have You completely rejected Judah? Or have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror! 20 We know our wickedness, O LORD, the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You. 21 Do not despise us, for Your own name's sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us. 22 Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, O LORD our God? Therefore, we hope in You, For You are the one who has done all these things.
v. 19: "Have You completely rejected Judah? Or have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!" - This is the voice of Jeremiah as communicated to him by the people. They are finally becoming conscious of the fact that the Lord has really and truly abandoned them, and they will be forced to face the drought and other hardships alone. They have tried to ply the Lord with words intended to bring peace and healing, but instead, they are facing terror alone. They have separated themselves from God by rejecting Him and will now have to pay for it.
v. 20: "We know our wickedness, O LORD, The iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You." - Jeremiah does not give up easily. The People acknowledge that they have sinned like their forefathers. They don't claim to be sinless but make this plea in the hope that the Lord will relent and finally acknowledge their confession and forgive their sins.
v. 21a: "Do not despise us, for Your own name's sake;" - One more time, they beseech the Lord to rescue them "for Your own Name's sake"-for the sake of His own reputation; that is to say if the Lord persists in punishing them, their pagan neighbors will claim, "your God must be weak!"
v. 21b: "Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory;" - This is a reference to the Temple in Jerusalem. These people think the Lord lives there and would never allow His throne to be dishonored by others.
v. 21c: "Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us." - This is a final plea that the Lord will not abolish His long-standing covenant with them. But they forget that a covenant has two sides; it imposes responsibilities on both parties-and it is the people who have broken the covenant, not God. The lord is not breaking the covenant: He is simply acknowledging its brokenness.
v. 22a: "Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, O LORD our God?" - There is irony in this phrase: The people admit that the idols have no power to bring rain or otherwise protect them. They acknowledge that only the Lord God of Israel has such powers. But at the same time they contradicted themselves because they had been guilty of repeatedly worshiping Baals, specifically, the Canaanite weather and fertility Gods. They had deliberately and consistently placed their trust in the Baals rather than the Lord. Now that the Baals have completely failed them, they find themselves at the Lord's feet, begging for help.
v. 22b: Therefore we hope in You, for You are the one who has done all these things. -Once again they enter a plea of hope. They have finally come to the realization that only the Lord God can save them now. But they have waited too late. The Lord has set His course and won't depart from it.
APPLICATION-The Consequences of Persistent Sin
1. Sometimes God doesn't come to the rescue. The Judahites in today's lesson had allowed themselves to think they were invincible because of their covenant relationship with YHWH. They carelessly permitted themselves to believe that God would protect them in spite of repeated violations of God's command to "have no other gods before Me...or make for yourself an idol" (Ex. 20:3-4). The same thing can happen to modern Christians who allow idols-money, power, material possessions, outside activities, pleasure, etc.-to become more important than their relationship with God.
2. There are times when sinners have gone so far the Lord won't accept intercession. God's command to Jeremiah in the text, "Do not pray for the welfare of this people" (v. 11), provides a rare instance when God will not longer accept intercession. In this case, the people's unfaithfulness, their habitual refusal to repent of their moral iniquities, their open rejection of the One True God by repeatedly worshipping pagan idols that represented nonexistent gods, and their willingness to believe false prophets rather than true prophets of God like Jeremiah-all of these factors had led them to a point of no return-God's judgment. The same thing can happen to modern Christians who allow themselves to become so backslidden that no one would even know they are Christians. Even though they don't lose their salvation, God can choose to judge them in this life in many different ways (e.g., premature death, disabling health problems, family tragedies, financial distress, etc.) Added to that, Christians who habitually sin stand to lose their rewards in heaven. Paul explained, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad." (2 Cor. 5:10).
