Jeremiah 17:1-18
It is difficult to keep our eyes on Christ in hard times. Peter serves as the clearest lesson of this truth when he tried to walk on water and began to sink after moving his gaze from Christ to the storm around him. Jeremiah has been through many difficult times simply for being a faithful servant of God, and in these few chapters we have heard him express that frustration several times. But what might it be like on the other side; what clarity there may be when the trial has passed and our gaze has not moved from God!
In verses 5-18, we read a psalm of sorts from the pen of Jeremiah. In fact, you might recognize the influence Psalm 1 has on the vocabulary and themes of this chapter. Jeremiah begins by expressing the fate of those who trust in humanity:
Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
This is not the kind of cursing in which we wish futility or destruction upon our enemies. This is the word God used to curse the serpent in the garden, and it means, “doomed.” The prophet has learned that those who rely on the potential and abilities of themselves or other humans are doomed to a path of aggravation and eventual failure. And the prophet is clear on why we cannot trust in others or ourselves:
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
This may be the starkest and most vivid description of the state of the human heart in Scripture. Of any and all things wicked and twisted we can imagine, the heart is worse than them all; clearly not a thing to be trusted. And in what is sometimes a convicting twist of phrase, though we are unable to fully understand the depths of our own heart, God sees and comprehends it all.
But all of this is a lesson Jeremiah has learned-he is writing out of what he has lived. Whereas he once accused God of being a deceitful brook (15:18), he now affirms that in reality, God is a fountain that never runs dry. Jeremiah has discovered that God never fails-never ceases to provide nourishment and grace to those who trust in Him.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.
So now, where in the past we read a complaint spoken out of desperation, we read an affirmation spoken from a position of strength (vs. 14-18)-from one who has seen the dregs of life and who has kept his eyes on God the entire time. In the past, Jeremiah has wondered about God’s ability to save and heal (15:18), now he proclaims that God is the only one who can save and heal. In the past, Jeremiah has complained about scoffers (11:19). He now brushes them aside. In the past, Jeremiah has felt the burden of his call (15:16-17), but now he proclaims in victory and thanksgiving that he has not turned aside from God’s purpose.
Let Jeremiah be an example to us all. Taking our eyes off of God and turning them to humanity for our provision and security spells certain doom. We must train ourselves to keep our eyes on the only one who is able to heal and to save; the only one in whom our trust and faith should reside.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
My Only Hope Is In The Lord: Jeremiah 16
As chapter 16 opens, God wastes no time in laying a fairly heavy burden upon the prophet in order to get a point across to the people of Judah. These first nine verses are sometimes difficult for us to read.
First, God commands Jeremiah not to marry. The command is final: it is not the case that Jeremiah can marry later on in life. God wants the prophet to stand for the rest of his life as a symbol of the desolation, loss and loneliness that Judah is about to encounter. And this is no small matter for a young man or woman in Jeremiah’s culture. Marriage was not only considered a blessing, but singleness and chastity were considered a curse. Our prophet has become a social pariah-an outcast at the command of God.
Secondly, God commands Jeremiah not to mourn. Though this may not sound as harsh to our ears, it would have been to the prophet. Funeral processions were a community event, especially in a community as small as Jeremiah’s hometown, and again the servant of God is asked to stick out in an uncomfortable way.
And thirdly, Jeremiah is commanded not to make merry. This command reminds us of Jeremiah’s complaint in 15:17, “I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me…”
Each time, however, God gives Jeremiah and Judah his reasons. These are not arbitrary commands on God’s part. There was coming a day in which everyone would lose their families, when the dead would outnumber the living and there would be no time to bury and mourn, and the sounds of joy would be gone from the streets and homes of Judah.
But even then, it is sometimes hard for us to imagine the God we serve and want to follow demanding these kinds of things of his faithful servant. Note that none of these commands concern “extraordinary” events or circumstances. They comprise “expected” and normal events of life. (The extraordinary things might be much easier to give up!) Barring any calling to the contrary, most of us imagine ourselves being married someday, we plan on attending the funerals of our friends and family, and we intend to rejoice with those who rejoice. We tend to consider these events as things that will naturally come to us in the courses of our lives.
But we need to be careful with what we expect out of life. Jeremiah expected nothing but the glory and kingdom of God. If we expect anything else (for ourselves) it is because from time to time we consider our selves as more important than the kingdom and purposes of God. Jeremiah, on the other hand, did not see life as a string of events that were due him. Rather, he viewed life as a series of opportunities to be a part of God’s kingdom and fulfill his purposes. If the normal graces of life come, it is by the grace of God, and if they do not, then there may be more important things taking place.
So as a result of this series of hard commands, what is the prophet’s response? In verses 19 and 20 Jeremiah says:
O LORD, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of trouble,
to you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
"Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,
worthless things in which there is no profit.
Can man make for himself gods?
Such are not gods!"
This is language of hope straight from the Psalms. As a social outcast simply for being a faithful child of God, Jeremiah recognizes where ultimate hope lies-in the kingdom of God. It is there where salvation is to be found-for himself, Judah, and the nations of the world. Jeremiah did not consider himself a living martyr, but he knew that by letting go of his “rights” in this world, he was grasping hold of something far more important and far more eternal in God’s will.
May God grant us the wisdom and strength to know not just that our hope is in him, but that our only hope is in him.
First, God commands Jeremiah not to marry. The command is final: it is not the case that Jeremiah can marry later on in life. God wants the prophet to stand for the rest of his life as a symbol of the desolation, loss and loneliness that Judah is about to encounter. And this is no small matter for a young man or woman in Jeremiah’s culture. Marriage was not only considered a blessing, but singleness and chastity were considered a curse. Our prophet has become a social pariah-an outcast at the command of God.
Secondly, God commands Jeremiah not to mourn. Though this may not sound as harsh to our ears, it would have been to the prophet. Funeral processions were a community event, especially in a community as small as Jeremiah’s hometown, and again the servant of God is asked to stick out in an uncomfortable way.
And thirdly, Jeremiah is commanded not to make merry. This command reminds us of Jeremiah’s complaint in 15:17, “I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me…”
Each time, however, God gives Jeremiah and Judah his reasons. These are not arbitrary commands on God’s part. There was coming a day in which everyone would lose their families, when the dead would outnumber the living and there would be no time to bury and mourn, and the sounds of joy would be gone from the streets and homes of Judah.
But even then, it is sometimes hard for us to imagine the God we serve and want to follow demanding these kinds of things of his faithful servant. Note that none of these commands concern “extraordinary” events or circumstances. They comprise “expected” and normal events of life. (The extraordinary things might be much easier to give up!) Barring any calling to the contrary, most of us imagine ourselves being married someday, we plan on attending the funerals of our friends and family, and we intend to rejoice with those who rejoice. We tend to consider these events as things that will naturally come to us in the courses of our lives.
But we need to be careful with what we expect out of life. Jeremiah expected nothing but the glory and kingdom of God. If we expect anything else (for ourselves) it is because from time to time we consider our selves as more important than the kingdom and purposes of God. Jeremiah, on the other hand, did not see life as a string of events that were due him. Rather, he viewed life as a series of opportunities to be a part of God’s kingdom and fulfill his purposes. If the normal graces of life come, it is by the grace of God, and if they do not, then there may be more important things taking place.
So as a result of this series of hard commands, what is the prophet’s response? In verses 19 and 20 Jeremiah says:
O LORD, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of trouble,
to you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
"Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,
worthless things in which there is no profit.
Can man make for himself gods?
Such are not gods!"
This is language of hope straight from the Psalms. As a social outcast simply for being a faithful child of God, Jeremiah recognizes where ultimate hope lies-in the kingdom of God. It is there where salvation is to be found-for himself, Judah, and the nations of the world. Jeremiah did not consider himself a living martyr, but he knew that by letting go of his “rights” in this world, he was grasping hold of something far more important and far more eternal in God’s will.
May God grant us the wisdom and strength to know not just that our hope is in him, but that our only hope is in him.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
God Remembers Jeremiah: Jeremiah 15
Jeremiah 15
Sometimes the call is difficult. Sometimes faithfully following the path God has laid out in our lives asks things of us that are a stretch, and sometimes they require everything we are and everything we have. Sometimes even just trying to be a Christian in our world is hard. I know we feel that strain from time to time in our lives today, but we can draw strength from the stories of God’s people and learn from them how to relate to the world around us and to God all at the same time.
As chapter 15 opens, God tells Jeremiah that despite his intercession Judah was slated for judgment. In fact, even if two of the better-known intercessors in the OT, Moses and Samuel, were to stand in the gap at this point, it would avail nothing. Our hero must be feeling a little useless.
Then, as we reach the halfway mark of the chapter, we enter another of Jeremiah’s complaints and if we are honest with the text, and ourselves, it is not difficult to hear a certain degree of self-pity and frustration. Jeremiah, like Job before him, laments the day of his birth. He feels as if his life has been nothing but a pain to everyone around him since the day he was born. But God feels differently. He reminds the prophet that he knew what he was doing when he gave him life. In fact, God had noted this very fact when he called him. Chapter 1:5 states:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;…
But Jeremiah has more to say, and taking note of the logic in his next argument is crucial. He says in verse 15:
O LORD, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
“Remembering” in the OT is a powerful tool. When it is used, it means more than just simple recollection. It is intended to request a return to a previous state of affairs: it is a plea for action. In using this device, Jeremiah wields a powerful notion. He is asking God to return to a time in their relationship when Jeremiah felt God’s protection and life overall seemed a little easier for the prophet. Our hero is struggling.
Next, Jeremiah notes that he gladly and faithfully took in God’s word, and by virtue of that, his life has been a struggle.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,…
I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
In other words, Jeremiah is telling God that his word has built in him a love for God and godly things and a hatred for sin and evil. The catch is that all Jeremiah was seeing was sin and evil, and therefore he was indignant all the time. Our hero is tired.
So how does the God who led him to this life respond? After a mild rebuke asking Jeremiah to turn back to him, God encourages the prophet in a profound way. In verses 20 and 21, God repeats almost word-for-word what he told Jeremiah when he called him in 1:18-19. God returned to that spiritual mountaintop in Jeremiah’s life-he remembered Jeremiah.
God remembers you. God is willing and able to restore a relationship of blessed union and grace in your life and mine. It will probably not mean an end to the difficulties of this life, but what are they in light of the glories that are to be revealed in us? (Rom 8:18)
Sometimes the call is difficult. Sometimes faithfully following the path God has laid out in our lives asks things of us that are a stretch, and sometimes they require everything we are and everything we have. Sometimes even just trying to be a Christian in our world is hard. I know we feel that strain from time to time in our lives today, but we can draw strength from the stories of God’s people and learn from them how to relate to the world around us and to God all at the same time.
As chapter 15 opens, God tells Jeremiah that despite his intercession Judah was slated for judgment. In fact, even if two of the better-known intercessors in the OT, Moses and Samuel, were to stand in the gap at this point, it would avail nothing. Our hero must be feeling a little useless.
Then, as we reach the halfway mark of the chapter, we enter another of Jeremiah’s complaints and if we are honest with the text, and ourselves, it is not difficult to hear a certain degree of self-pity and frustration. Jeremiah, like Job before him, laments the day of his birth. He feels as if his life has been nothing but a pain to everyone around him since the day he was born. But God feels differently. He reminds the prophet that he knew what he was doing when he gave him life. In fact, God had noted this very fact when he called him. Chapter 1:5 states:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;…
But Jeremiah has more to say, and taking note of the logic in his next argument is crucial. He says in verse 15:
O LORD, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
“Remembering” in the OT is a powerful tool. When it is used, it means more than just simple recollection. It is intended to request a return to a previous state of affairs: it is a plea for action. In using this device, Jeremiah wields a powerful notion. He is asking God to return to a time in their relationship when Jeremiah felt God’s protection and life overall seemed a little easier for the prophet. Our hero is struggling.
Next, Jeremiah notes that he gladly and faithfully took in God’s word, and by virtue of that, his life has been a struggle.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,…
I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
In other words, Jeremiah is telling God that his word has built in him a love for God and godly things and a hatred for sin and evil. The catch is that all Jeremiah was seeing was sin and evil, and therefore he was indignant all the time. Our hero is tired.
So how does the God who led him to this life respond? After a mild rebuke asking Jeremiah to turn back to him, God encourages the prophet in a profound way. In verses 20 and 21, God repeats almost word-for-word what he told Jeremiah when he called him in 1:18-19. God returned to that spiritual mountaintop in Jeremiah’s life-he remembered Jeremiah.
God remembers you. God is willing and able to restore a relationship of blessed union and grace in your life and mine. It will probably not mean an end to the difficulties of this life, but what are they in light of the glories that are to be revealed in us? (Rom 8:18)
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