耶利米书

Meditative Reflection
We are Just Human!

“Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!” (Jer. 12:3b)

In last week’s devotion, I was impressed with the prophet’s love for his people in that he identified so totally with the coming judgment of the people that He wept saying that “Since my people are crushed, I am crushed” (8:21–9:1). Indeed, his love for his people was amazing, that is, until they turned against him personally.

Not only did these people turn on him, but they plotted to kill him; and from all indications, these were his contemporaries — priests from his home town, Anathoth. Not only that, even his own “brothers” participated or aided in the plot (12:6). These priests were so offended by his attack on them that they did not only want to beat him up or drive him away, they wanted to “cut him off from the land of the living” (11:19).

It appears that Jeremiah was completely helpless (11:19) and the only thing he could do was to turn to the Lord for help. We have no idea how God intervened, but obviously these people abandoned their plan and Jeremiah was spared. Not only that, God promised to exact vengeance on these people to the point that their descendants—i.e. sons and daughter would either die by the sword or of famine (11:22). However, it would not happen immediately, only “in the year of their punishment” (11:23). How did Jeremiah respond to God’s promise and action? He was extremely dissatisfied!

While he agreed that God was righteous in His promise to punish these people (12:1), he was not pleased that it did not happen right away, and so he dared to compare his righteousness with their unrighteousness (12:2-3). And, while he knew he could not change God’s timing of judgment, he did ask that the people be “set apart for the day of slaughter” (12:3), meaning to be dealt even more harshly than the rest of the people!

And how did God respond to his complaint? Well, that’s the topic of tomorrow’s reflection. For now, I can only be thankful that the Bible is so honest even with the best of the prophets, to show us that after all, we are all human!

Meditative Reflection
Run with Jesus

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you have stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” (Jer. 12:5)

After God revealed the plot to kill him (likely by his peers), Jeremiah pour out his complaint to the Lord (11:18-19; 12:1-4), but he received a very surprising answer from the Lord, “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you have stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” (12:5). This reminds me of both the work of Eugene Petersen’s “Run with the Horses” (which I encourage you to get a hold of a copy and read), and Ira Stanphill’s song, “Follow Me”. Allow me to share with you the lyrics of the latter which have helped me over the years whenever I find the pressure of ministry too much to bear:

1
I traveled down a lonely road And no one seemed to care;
The burden on my weary back Had bowed me to despair,
I oft complained to Jesus How folks were treating me,
And then I heard Him say so tenderly,
“My feet were also weary, Upon the Calv'ry road;
The cross became so heavy, I fell beneath the load,
Be faithful weary pilgrim, The morning I can see,
Just lift your cross and follow close to me.”

2
“I work so hard for Jesus” I often boast and say,
“I've sacrificed a lot of things To walk the narrow way,
I gave up fame and fortune, I'm worth a lot to Thee,”
And then I hear Him gently say to me.
“I left the throne of glory And counted it but loss,
My hands were nailed in anger Upon a cruel cross,
But now we'll make the journey With your hand safe in mine,
So lift your cross and follow close to me."

3
Oh, Jesus if I die upon A foreign field some day,‘Twould be no more than love demands No less could I repay,“No greater love hath mortal man Than for a friend to die”
These are the words He gently spoke to me,
“If just a cup of water I place within your hand
Then just a cup of water Is all that I demand,”
But if by death to living They can thy glory see,
I'll take my cross and follow close to thee.

Meditative Reflection
Teaching from Experience

 “This is what the Lord said to me: ‘Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water'.” (Jer. 13:1)

As much as the linen belt was an object lesson for the people, it appears that it was a message that the prophet himself should hear and identify with before he could teach the people.

As Jeremiah went and purchased this brand new linen belt and put it around his waist as directed by the Lord, consider the following:

- He must have felt the pride of wearing a brand new belt which tightened his clothing (or robe) so that he could be more ready to walk and do his chores. And of course, for soldiers in his time, the belt would strengthen their chests and lift up their spirits to be more prepared for battle.

- As Jeremiah tied the belt around his waist, he would feel the warmth of his clothes and establish a connection with it as if it were part of his body.

Then he was to hide it in the crevice in Perath which is believed to be some 250 miles from Jerusalem in the region of the Euphrates, and return only to find it completely ruined and useless, even without the help of water.

This personal experience helped him understand both the pride of his people and the love of God in embracing them as His own, and the ruining of the belt would also deepen his understanding of the horror of the sin of his people and the rejection by God, allowing them to fall into the hands of the Babylonians who would be coming from the Euphrates.

This object lesson has served as a fitting reminder to me as a teacher and a pastor that it is always God’s desire that I would personally understand and apply the message to myself before I deliver it to His people, so that I can truly identify with His feeling and the plight of the hearers.

Meditative Reflection
Hidden Love

“If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.” (Jer. 13:17)

I have come across many self-righteous Christians who would not hesitate to point out the sin of other Christians as if they were following the example of the prophets of old, and often, instead of leading others to repentance, they would provoke bitter divisions in the church. Their problem lies not so much in what they say, as often what they say is right biblically. The problem lies in that they only follow the external expression of rebuke and chastisement of the prophets of old, but have not emulated the hearts of these prophets.

For over 12 chapters, we have already read and reflected on the words of rebuke of Jeremiah against his people, to the point that they seem like a broken record. However, time and again, we also see the grief and pain that has accompanied these words of rebuke, and again we read these words of grief in 13:17, “If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive”. In other words, Jeremiah does not only openly rebuke theses people of their sins, but secretly he often prays for them and weep for them. In other words, he has earned his right to rebuke them.

Next time, when we feel like slashing out against other believers because of an apparent sin that they have committed, we need to ask ourselves, “Have I first wept in secret for them?”

Meditative Reflection
Humble Ourselves before God

“The prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place'.” (Jer. 14:13)

We know that the Lord Jesus has foretold that before His “Second coming”, there will be “great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places and fearful events and great signs from heaven” (Lk. 21:11).

For the longest time, believers in the west and in other developed countries felt immune to such natural disasters, especially famines and pestilences, that was, until this century. The sudden spread of SARS and Ebola causes us to realize that we are not immune to pestilences. In many parts of the world, including California, the destruction caused by severe earthquakes is felt “in various places”. Now even famine is becoming more and more a reality in the west as severe droughts become more widespread because of global warming, although long before the current global warming, droughts have been very much a reality of human existence — such as the seven years of drought and famine in the time of Joseph and the drought mentioned by Jeremiah (in chapter 14), except that the latter was cited as a punishment by God because of the sin of the people.

Granted not every drought or famine is a direct result of human sin, we should not, as a result, discount God's use of natural disaster as a warning to the world of their sin. Every time, we witness the horrific power of tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes or droughts, it should remind us of the sins of human pride and cause us to humble ourselves before God and plead for mercy.

Meditative Reflection
Learning to Pray with Jeremiah

“Have you rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion?” (Jer. 14:19)

As much as the Lord has clearly asked Jeremiah not to intercede for his people, (14:11) Jeremiah would not give up. Upon hearing the lament of the Lord, knowing that He in fact also grieved for the plight of the people to the point of overflowing with tears (14:17), he quickly jumped in to plead for his people again. In this second effort of intercession, there is much we can learn from Jeremiah in how we can plead for ourselves or for other brothers and sisters as we are disciplined by the Lord:

- Drawing God’s attention to the plight of those rejected by God (v. 19): Indeed there is no plight worse than being rejected by the Lord — the incurable wounds, the lack of peace and the terror of the soul all point to a life of hopelessness.

- Confessing of sins (v. 20): Forgiveness is impossible without confession, and Jeremiah, once again, confessed the sins of the people as being one of them.

- Reminding God that His name is at stake (v. 21): As believers, our sins first and foremost have brought shame to the name of the Lord, and His forgiveness, not His punishment, will bring glory to Him—that was how Moses interceded for his people as well (Exodus 32:12).

- Urging God to reveal His power for His glory (v. 22): Just as Jeremiah urged God to send rain to alleviate their drought to prove that He is greater than worthless idols, we should pray that, even as we go through a time of discipline by the Lord that God will do whatever is necessary to bring glory to His name.

Meditative Reflection
When the Going Gets Tough

“If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.” (Jer. 15:19)

We like to say that, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”, but it is easier said than done. This is why I am so thankful for the honesty of the authors of the Bible. They never paint a perfect picture of any saint or servant of the Lord. All are human who are vulnerable and weak, and yet by the grace of God, they have been greatly used by God for His glory and to achieve His purposes in the furtherance of His Kingdom. Jeremiah is no exception.

Jeremiah shares his inner struggles as he seeks to be faithful to his charge as the prophet who warns them of the impending destruction of Judah before the kings, among the people and perhaps, the toughest of all, among his peers — the priests in Anathoth.

On the one hand, he shares that exhilarating experience of hearing the words of God: “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and heart’s delight” (15:16). We all can identify with his experience, and perhaps, it is exactly what you have just felt as you were reflecting on the words of God today. What joy, wonderful joy it is when God speaks to us through His words!

And yet, the words of God are not spoken to him primarily for his enjoyment, but for him to obey and to preach. And Jeremiah did exactly that:

- He obeyed the words of the Lord and thus resolved never to sit in the company of revelers and thus felt quite isolated (v. 17).

- Of course, he faithfully delivered the messages that were entrusted to him and thus, was persecuted (v. 15).

This is something that he should have expected, because at the time of his calling (when he was pretty young), both the persecution and God’s protection were promised (1:17-19). While God has kept His end of the bargain — He keeps speaking to him and protecting him (like revealing to him the plot to kill him), Jeremiah’s will seemed to have been broken under pressure, to the point that he blamed the Lord for his plight, “You are to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails” (15:18).

God is so merciful. He reiterates His previous promise of protection and eventual vindication to him (15:20-21); but just the same, He also demands that Jeremiah should repent (of his self-pity) in order that He could continue to use him (15:19).