“Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails?”
– Jeremiah 15:18
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you ever pulled a Jeremiah? Have you ever felt trapped? Have you ever felt powerless? Have you ever felt all alone? If you have ever felt cornered, helpless and/or isolated, what have you done? God – as God the Father, audibly mandated Jeremiah to do the unenviable task of confronting His specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the city of Jerusalem. During the 45 year reign of Manasseh – who was one of Hezekiah’s kids, the Israelite people group guys and gals – who are God’s specially chosen guys and gals, who lived in the city of Jerusalem had become atrociously wicked. When God – as God the Spirit, breathed on Jeremiah to scribe what is in Jeremiah 15, God – as God the Father, was no longer willing to tolerate the backsliding ways of His specially chosen guys and gals. Because God – as God the Father, had become by this time so disgusted with the continued abhorrent behavior of His specially chosen guys and gals, God – as God the Father, told Jeremiah that even if Moses and Samuel were to show up to passionately argue a case for His specially chosen guys and gals, that He would still not have His heart go out to them to keep them from having to go through the suffering that He was about to wrack on them. Jeremiah was told by God – as God the Father, that He was ready to unleash death, the sword, starvation and captivity on His specially chosen guys and gals. God – as God the Father, told Jeremiah that He no longer had pity or compassion on the city of Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem was the central city for God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land of Judah. Solomon – who was one of David’s kids and the third positioned king over the guys and gals who lived in the land of Israel, had overseen in the city of Jerusalem the building of a spectacular, ornate temple for the presence of God. God – as God the Father, told Jeremiah that He was ready to begin to winnow His specially chosen guys and gals. What God – as God the Father, was saying to Jeremiah – when He told Jeremiah that He was ready to begin to winnow His specially chosen guys and gals, was that He was ready to blow them away just as wind blows away the useless chaff from any harvested grain as its’ husk is being beaten.
How do you think that Jeremiah felt after God – as God the Father, told him to tell the Israelite people group guys and gals who were living in the city of Jerusalem that He was going to send a destroyer who would bring about bereavement, destruction, disgrace, humiliation and disaster against them because of their abysmal, defiant behavior against Him. Have you ever gotten testy with God? Jeremiah got a little cantankerous with God. Verse 18 says how Jeremiah felt, “Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails?” How do you feel when you know that there is no way out of a dilemma that you find yourself in? How do you feel when you know that you do not have enough strength to do what you are being asked to do? How do you feel when you know that there is no one who you can go to to discuss an untenable situation that you are in? When Jeremiah began to experience some nagging doubts about himself, his abilities and in the mission call that God – as God the Father, had unambiguously told him to follow through doing in the city of Jerusalem, Jeremiah accuses God of being undependable. Would you dare to call God undependable or untrustworthy? Even though there has been many times when your grandpaa has really wondered why God has done what His has done or is doing what His is doing, your grandpaa still believes that God is a sovereign God who preplanned all things – no matter how minute or miniscule, in a way that will in due course bring about the final resolution to something that is so much bigger that your grandpaa cannot begin to get his arms around what that picture might look like.
Your grandpaa believes that the bigger picture includes the eventual, eternal demise of a fallen angel – who is Lucifer, who let an itsy-bitsy speck of pride take over his psyche so much so that God had to toss this celestial being and his following of minion spirits out of heaven’s sanctuary. Jeremiah had God – as God the Father, tell him – after Jeremiah had taken it upon himself to confront God – as God the Father, for . . ., that if he wants to be used again by Him as a servant spokesman that he – Jeremiah, needs to first repent of his worthless words so that he can once again utter worthy words for Him. Jeremiah had God – as God the Father, tell him that He would in the end save him from the hands of the wicked and that He would redeem him from the grasp of the cruel. What Jeremiah was told by God – as God the Father, to convey to His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals, who were living in the city of Jerusalem, did take place just as God – as God the Father, said that it would. The city of Jerusalem was overrun, looted and many of the guys, gals and kids who were still alive were taken away to the country of Babylonia as exiles. Your grandpaa can reconcile in his mind why God would want to incur havoc on a country or a people group or a guy or gal who rejects Him. Your grandpaa though has a lot more difficulty trying to comprehend why God has committed Christ-follower guys and gals who your grandpaa knows or knew well – such as Lambert and Jackie Royal and Sue Rogers, who have gone or are going through frightful, debilitating cancer battles. Only God’s grace gives hope to a guy or gal who is not experiencing hope and is living in self-pity.
Jeremiah 15 (1024)