Jeremiah 15:1-4
Jeremiah interceded for the nation, for his people, in chapter fourteen. He asked the Lord for mercy, to protect His name and confessed the guilt of the people. He complained of God's harsh judgment and asked the Lord to protect His throne. But the Lord rejected the intercession. Even if the Moses and Samuel, two successful intercessors, were standing before Him wouldn't relent. They were to be sent away.
Where would they go? This would be the question they'd ask. Prior to the threat of judgment, they ran to and fro, from god to god; from nation to nation, always seeking after something else, someone else. They were always chasing but never finding. They seem to understand now, that if there was no where to go. In the past, in the back of their mind, they knew they could run to the Lord.
- To death
- To the sword
- To starvation
- To captivity
Of the four destroyers the Lord would send, the first would kill, the other three would mutilate and devour the dead. God's people would be found abhorrent to the rest of the world. This happened because God found them abhorrent for the what was done by Manasseh. He chased other gods, set up altars to them and sacrificed children. The apostasy and idolatry led to a wickedness that was unprecedented. Manasseh broke all the records for evil.
Jeremiah 15:5-9
Who would have pity? Who would mourn? Who will care about them? The Lord had previously cared for them, mourned for them, had pity and much more. But those days had passed. They had rejected the Lord, so He was rejecting them. Where were the gods they chased after? Would they not care for them? They would become completely aware that those gods weren't gods at all.
They would be judged, winnowed and scattered like the chaff. There would be destruction and mourning over death. The mother of seven would have previously been considered blessed; the seven a completeness from the Lord. But the warrior sons would die and she would not escape either. The mothers would die, the survivors would be killed.
Jeremiah 15:10-14
This verse begins a section of Jeremiah lamenting a double lament:
- He laments the persecution from his own people, from even his family.
See also 20:14 and 11:21 where the people of Anathoth, his home town, plot against him. He had become a man who 'strive and contend'. These two words cover hate filled and angry speech and actions that are violent toward him. Why would everyone respond this way? Could it be a reaction to hearing the truth they don't want to hear. They responded to the messenger. Jeremiah was warned of this in his ministry. His lament portrays him as neither a lender or barrower. He could not be despised for owing someone, nor could he be despised for being owed. People had made the response to the truth personal, as if Jeremiah were a borrower or lender, instead of responding to the God who put the truth in front of them.
- He laments the attack of the enemy
The iron from the north is a picture of Babylon. The Lord said he would strip them of the wealth and treasures and give them to others. These wealth and treasures were once blessings given to them, now taken back and given to another. Not only would they lose these blessings, they would lose the blessing of their freedom. The Lord enslaved them to the enemy.
Sin and rebellion against the Lord will always lead to loss of blessing and loss of freedom. Our freedom from sin and bondage is found only in the Lord. It is our sin nature that rebels against the Lords rule, attempting to rule ourselves, we simply lose all we've been blessed with and enslave our self to sin.
Jeremiah 15:15-18
What a powerful passage. Jeremiah knew the Lord was aware of the complaint of his heart. He asked the Lord again to remember him, care for him and avenge him against those who were persecuting him. He felt as the though the Lord had forgotten him. Jeremiah pointed to his own loyalty that ended up bringing reproach.
When the Lord brought the word to Jeremiah, he ate it; this is an idiom of the word being in his mouth, of speaking God's word. Jeremiah found these words to be a source of joy and delight in his heart. But it seemed as a deceptive brook, hearing the word and promises but then suffering such persecution.
Jeremiah returned to presenting his life and ways as not compromising, of not being found in the company of revelers. He had been set apart and lived a lonely life in service to the Lord. The knowledge of sin and filled him with a righteous anger toward sin and the purveyors of sin.
Why, then did he suffer (Job 6:15-20)? It seemed as a deceptive brook; a brook that only had water after a rain. It hinted it was living and would have continual flow, but it dried up and could not be relied on. This is a harsh accusation. Jeremiah had the promise of 1:18-19 –
Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.
Jeremiah felt the Lord had not held up his end of the bargain.
Jeremiah 15:19-21
Had Jeremiah become too sided with the people that he had wandered away from his life as a prophet? The Lord called for him to return, to repent and be restored. The restoration was to that of service to the Lord. He would utter worthy words as the spokesman for the Lord. Sometimes our words come from human reasoning, come from not understanding the Lord's ways or His righteousness. Because we lack complete comprehension of the holy, the judgments often seem harsh. Our compassion is not greater than the Lords, it is flawed and selfish and responds only to the consequence of sin and not the offense of it as seen by the Lord.
The people were to turn to Jeremiah to hear from the Lord. He must be careful not to turn to them and let his compassion and care compromise the word of truth. His compassion must plead with them to run to the Lord.
The Lord renews his promise to rescue and save. The promise is also an indication there was more to come. He did not promise to keep him from persecution, but to save him from their hand. He did not promise they wouldn't speak harsh words or hate him, but they would not bring harm to him physically. He would be a wall they could not take down or scale. The truth was a wall that could not be ignored by harming the messenger. The Lord is a fortress for men to run to or war against; a stone of offense to crush and stumble those who stand in opposition. He is an offense to the world who refuses His truth; who claim the creation and blessings for themselves. They are offended by his precepts but want the blessings of time, health, bounty, wisdom and joy. These gifts will always leave one empty and searching.
©2018 Doug Ford
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