THE WEEPING PROPHET

Jeremiah 14:1-22 / Keywords 14:17

"Speak this word to them: ‘Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter--my people--has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow.’”

Drought, Famine, Sword

14:1 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

2 “Judah mourns,

    her cities languish;

they wail for the land,

    and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.

3 The nobles send their servants for water;

    they go to the cisterns

    but find no water.

They return with their jars unfilled;

    dismayed and despairing,

    they cover their heads.

4 The ground is cracked

    because there is no rain in the land;

the farmers are dismayed

    and cover their heads.

5 Even the doe in the field

    deserts her newborn fawn

    because there is no grass.

6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights

    and pant like jackals;

their eyes fail

    for lack of food.”

7 Although our sins testify against us,

    do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.

For we have often rebelled;

    we have sinned against you.

8 You who are the hope of Israel,

    its Savior in times of distress,

why are you like a stranger in the land,

    like a traveler who stays only a night?

9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,

    like a warrior powerless to save?

You are among us, Lord,

    and we bear your name;

    do not forsake us!

10 This is what the Lord says about this people:

“They greatly love to wander;

    they do not restrain their feet.

So the Lord does not accept them;

    he will now remember their wickedness

    and punish them for their sins.”

11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”

13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”

14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries[a] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons and their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.

17 “Speak this word to them:

“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears

    night and day without ceasing;

for the Virgin Daughter, my people,

    has suffered a grievous wound,

    a crushing blow.

18 If I go into the country,

    I see those slain by the sword;

if I go into the city,

    I see the ravages of famine.

Both prophet and priest

    have gone to a land they know not.’”

19 Have you rejected Judah completely?

    Do you despise Zion?

Why have you afflicted us

    so that we cannot be healed?

We hoped for peace

    but no good has come,

for a time of healing

    but there is only terror.

20 We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord,

    and the guilt of our ancestors;

    we have indeed sinned against you.

21 For the sake of your name do not despise us;

    do not dishonor your glorious throne.

Remember your covenant with us

    and do not break it.

22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?

    Do the skies themselves send down showers?

No, it is you, Lord our God.

    Therefore our hope is in you,

    for you are the one who does all this.

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations

 

1. Judah was suffering from a severe drought that was the consequence of their sins. Jeremiah prayed, confessing that his people had often rebelled, but he asked the Lord not to forsake the people who bore his name (9). Some so-called prophets were proclaiming that Judah would not suffer, but they were prophesying falsely. They were just saying what people wanted to hear (14).

 

2. The Lord told Jeremiah not to pray for the people because he had decided to punish them (11-12). But this was really just a test of Jeremiah’s heart. Jeremiah was determined to keep praying for his people with tears, night and day without ceasing, if by any means they could be spiritually healed (17). Sometimes, God’s people need a “weeping prophet”, as Jeremiah is called. When we see the evil and suffering in our times, we can be tempted to give up on the people of the world. But God is the source of undying hope. We should pray to God for the world no matter what, even if his judgment seems inescapable.

 

Prayer Father, I confess that we are a sinful people who wander from you so much. But I believe you put me here to be an intercessor. May the tearful prayers of your saints work for good in the world.

One Word Pray for the sinful world with tears