The pain of revelation!
"The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah..."
At this point, Jeremiah had been shown many things by the Lord. Some of restoration, but much of judgment and destruction.
Can you put yourself in Jeremiah's shoes? Consider the weight of what the Lord revealed to him. Pretty heavy words! And on top of that, many receiving these words were unwilling to listen or repent. Yet Jeremiah remained faithful.
In the midst of judgment against the Philistines, we read: ""O you sword of the LORD, How long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, Rest and be still!" Jeremiah 47:6
What a picture of the weight of judgment! A cry for destruction to cease, yet the next verse reminds us that the Lord had appointed it.
This reminds me of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem: "saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." Luke 19:42
There's a painful reality to the destructive consequences of sin, both in others' lives and our own. When we become self-seeking and self-willed rather than seeking Christ and His kingdom, we must remember that God is righteous in His judgment.
Judgment belongs to the Lord, not us. But that doesn't make it easy to witness or walk through. Jeremiah understood the righteousness of God's judgment while also knowing the sorrow surrounding destruction.
We must learn to lament! To bring our grief and burdens to the Lord. To grieve over sin and its consequences. Yet, even in our lament, we can turn toward praise, trusting in His goodness, righteousness, and faithfulness.
We know He is patient, "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
Do we grieve over the things that grieve the heart of God? Do we look upon the lost with compassion or indifference?
May we have the faithfulness of Jeremiah to proclaim His Word and the compassion of Christ to weep over the lost!
-To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission.