Read Jeremiah 16:1-13
Put yourself into this situation. You’re running a 25km marathon race. After several gruelling hours your legs burn and ache. Your body is begging for relief and your mind is starting to tempt you to quit. As you round the bend, your
Jeremiah is told by the Lord not to marry and not to have children. Again Jeremiah is to be a living parable. His life will proclaim a message of judgement to the people as God’s foretold judgement takes hold and becomes reality. Feasting and merriment will be silenced. Mourning for the dead will be removed. People will no longer mourn for the dead because death will be as common as rats in a sewer.
Before we see the reason for the living parable, we need to realise that many preachers and churches and believers are doing exactly what the coach did. Many believers are preaching and proclaiming a false hope to others in trying times. I’ve personally heard Christians say such trite and bland things as ‘When God takes something away from you, He’s preparing you for something better.’ Unless we mean something better in terms of salvation, that statement is a completely false hope built on sentiment not Scripture. Others have prayed for healing and promised healing in Jesus’ name, without hearing a Word from the Lord. Others have said the darkness only lasts for a moment but the morning star is quickly rising.
God honestly tells Jeremiah and the people that they have a long way to go before the judgement for their sins is finished. Restoration is coming but it comes through a hard and long road of pain and suffering. Jeremiah is not called to sugar coat the message or to preach a false message of hope.
How I wish well meaning Christians would seek the Lord’s counsel and wisdom before they splutter out pious platitudes of supposed hope and encouragement. The Scriptural reality is that it may not be God’s will for this time of suffering to be followed by something better. It may be God’s will that this sickness lead to more sickness or even death. There may be years, even decades of more suffering before the healing and restoration comes.
Jeremiah was called to preach a hard hitting reality from God. God is so incensed at their sin and unrepentant heart that He will remove mourning and feasting from the land. In response the people will cry out verse 10
‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’
The answer is verse 11 –12 is not sugar coated in any way, shape or form.
Then say to them, ‘It is because your fathers forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law. 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers. See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying me.
The reality is this: God is so great and so awesome that I don’t need to sugar coat my response to those who are suffering and hurting.
Prayer Points:
Using today’s Bible passage and reading notes spend time in adoration, confession, thanks and supplication.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
· List the people in your congregation that are suffering and hurting. Pray for each one specifically and ask the Lord for wisdom to approach them with His Word and His will.
1. How could you respond to the following situations in a pastorally sensitive way as well as scripturally accurate way.
The daughter of a family in your church has just been diagnosed with a potentially life threatening illness.
A prominent non believing friend has lost his business and his job.
A godly older couple have been banned from seeing their grand kids because they kept speaking of Jesus to her.
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