The Heart of a Weeping Prophet

"Now, Jeremiah, say this to them:

'Night and day my eyes overflow with tears.

I cannot stop weeping,

for my virgin daughter--my precious people--

has been struck down and lies mortally wounded.

If I go out into the fields,

I see the bodies of people slaughtered by the enemy.

If I walk the city streets,

I see people who have died of starvation.

The prophets and priests continue with their work,

but they don't know what they're doing.'"

Jeremiah 14:17-18 NLT

The people had made their bed and now they must lie in it, so to speak.  They would reap what their seeds of destructive rebellion had produced.  He might have been tempted to gloat or to smugly proclaim to the people of Israel that they were only getting what was coming to them.  But God gave him a different response.

What can I learn by examining the heart of a weeping prophet and thus the heart of God that will help me live in such a dark and twisted world?

Sanctity of Life.  Today's cultural and political climate treats human beings as disposable entities.  Respect of the viewpoint others hold has entirely been lost.  If I disagree with someone, it seems right to demonize them, labeling them as not just wrong but evil and the root of all that is wrong.  I am encouraged to look at those who live in a way I don't agree with as if they are less than human, inferior, and even enemies.  This leads to seeing those who are on the path that leads to destruction as one-dimensional beings, characters without a past or a family who love them, devoid of dreams and passions, regrets and struggles.    It's easy to dismiss someone as invaluable if I never find common ground or acknowledge their humanness.

The message God sent through Jeremiah revealed His attitude toward His image bearers.  Their lives are precious and each person, no matter how rebellious or thick-headed, is equally as valuable.  While God was preparing to lower the boom on His people, it was always with the hope that they would repent and return to Him.  It was never His intention to simply cast them away or cause them to suffer for the sake of making them hurt.  Each life is instead seen as sacred, and He goes to great lengths to try and draw each back to Him, holding back His wrath for longer than any deserve (Luke 15:1-7, Romans 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9).

Jeremiah the weeping prophet reveals the heart of God who values each life as sacred, and it is time that I treasure each human as He does, leaving any revenge to Him alone (Matthew 10:29-31, Romans 12:19).

Humble Lament.  I live in a culture that is uncomfortable with grief and sorrow.  I'm taught to never wallow in my sadness or troubles, but to heal and move on and quickly as possible.  As a result, I fail to fully feel the weight of my sorrow and find the acting of mourning quite difficult and unpleasant.  I tend to take on this same attitude when it comes to sin, as well.  I fail to spend any time feeling the full weight of my sin; how it affects others, the impact it has on my future, and how it hurts God.  Instead, I try not to think too much about it, attempting to unload it like a hot-potato.

Here God demonstrates through His prophet Jeremiah how to humbly lament over the suffering caused by the sins of the people.  Even though they are only experiencing the consequence of their own selfish, hard-headed, stiff-necked choices, the hurt that results is nonetheless painful.  If I turn away from my coldness of heart, this compassion of God will flow through me as well, allowing me to mourn for those who are disobedient to God (Psalm 119:136).  And when I do, God's lovingkindness may draw others to the eternal well where they will find everlasting healing (John 4:14).

Jeremiah the weeping prophet reveals the heart of God who grieves over the sin of mankind, and it is time that I humbly lament as He does.

Sobering Reality.  I don't understand why he would make such a foolish choice that is destroying his marriage and family.  She knows exactly what she's doing, I guess she's just a glutton for punishment.  He's beyond my help, I just can't reach him no matter what I do.  It can be frustrating to stand by and watch people I care about self-destruct.  And it's easy to chalk it all up to stupidity, foolishness or stubbornness.  But there is a truth that better explains their behavior, and it will help me to interact with them in a more godly manner.

Jesus modeled this for me as He hung suffering on the cross, pleading with God to forgive the men who caused him such pain.  "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34 NLT)  Jesus knew something I need to realize:  the lost are blinded by Satan who holds them captive to do his own destructive will and are filled with darkness that confuses their minds and closes them off from the truth (2 Timothy 2:26, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 4:18).  Any who do not know Christ truly don't know any better than to sin.  I was the same way until God rescued me from my ignorance (Ephesians 2:1-3).   Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord who has liberated mankind from the power of sin and Satan (Romans 8:2, Hebrews 2:14). 

Jeremiah the weeping prophet reveals the heart of God who knows the power of the flesh and man's enemy yet offers the overwhelming victory that comes through faith in Christ, and it is time that I accept this sobering reality as He does.

I look around me in disgust, failing to see how people could be so blind as to live in such a destructive way and bring society down with them .  It's easy to take on a cynical attitude and scorn my fellow man.  But God used Jeremiah, the prophet to His people during a time of great rebellion, to reveal His own heart.  When I take note, I realize how much God values every human life, that He grieves over the suffering that comes as a result of their own foolish and stubborn choices and attitudes, and the sobering reality that they truly don't know what they do but are victims of Satan and sin.  As God's perspective sinks in and I turn away from my own prideful perspective, I take on the heart of the weeping prophet and let the heart of God shine through.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to refrain from looking down on the lost, knowing that He values each one enough to have gone to great lengths to win them back (Romans 8:32).

How do I dismiss the lost as beyond all hope because they are so deep in their sin?

How can I take steps to lament, grieving and weeping over the sins of the nation?