Jeremiah 1-29: The anguish of the messenger

Do we pay attention to product warning labels or do we gloss over them thinking that "we know better" and the warnings do not apply to us? The prophets of the Old Testament have the unpopular job of being heralds of warning and judgment, especially if they have to confront those who are in authority - the king and other corrupted prophets and priests. What made it even more frustrating for the prophet Jeremiah is the deception of the people prevented them from repenting. The people needed to acknowledge their sin and truly repent (3:11–4:4), but they refused to listen to God. The people were blinded by the false prophets who deceived them into believing that there would be peace (5:12–13; 6:13–14; 14:1–16).

Since Jeremiah was only a youth when God called him (1:7), he had a long ministry runway - 40 years. However, not once did he see any real success in changing or softening the hearts and minds of his stubborn, idolatrous people. The other prophets of Israel had witnessed some successes, at least for a little while, but not Jeremiah. He was speaking to a brick wall; however, his words were not wasted because through Jeremiah, God also revealed the future restoration of His people.

Connecting the dots
Like a rotten fruit, the internal corruption and the sins of Judah has been festering so long that it affects almost every level of society and "my people love it so!" (5:31). There is actually a love for falsehood and self-defined authority (5:31). No wonder, Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet," because he cried tears of sadness, not only because he knew what was about to happen but because, no matter how hard he tried, the people would not listen. Furthermore, he found no human comfort. God had forbidden him to marry or have children (16:2), and his friends had turned their backs on him. So, along with the burden of the knowledge of impending judgment, he also must have felt very lonely. You cannot read Jeremiah without being affected by the anguish of the prophet himself.

Jeremiah was given the task of delivering an unpopular, convicting message to Judah, one that caused him great mental anguish, as well as making him despised in the eyes of his people. God says that His truth sounds like “foolishness” to those who are lost, but to believers it is the very words of life (1 Cor 1:18). He also says that the time will come when people will not tolerate the truth (2 Tim 4:3-4). Those in Judah in Jeremiah’s day did not want to hear what he had to say, and his constant warning of judgment annoyed them. This is true of the world today, as believers who are following God’s instructions are warning the lost and dying world of impending judgment (Rev 3:10). Even though most are not listening, we must persevere in proclaiming truth in order to rescue some from the terrible judgment that will inevitably come.

Activity idea
Think of someone you know who have been in ministry for a while, especially those who are involved in an area where there is plenty of pushback from the very people they serve. They could be in need of a word of encouragement because ministry can be a lonely place (where others expect you to have it all together). Consider reaching out in simple and meaningful ways.

Christ in Scripture
Interestingly, in some moments, Jeremiah's actions and thoughts cannot be clearly distinguished from those of the Lord. For example, 4:19-22 records the tormenting cries of an anguished speaker who laments the sins of the city of Jerusalem. Who is this speaker? Probably Jeremiah but possibly the Lord. The text does not make this clear - the heart of Jeremiah, the prophet is also unveiling the heart of the Lord. This is reminiscent of Luke 19:41-44 when Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem who "kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!" (Matt 23:37).  

On the cross, the greatest prophet of all, Jesus Christ Himself died to bring about the new covenant of grace, the heart transformation that was foretold in Jeremiah 30-33. The weeping of Jeremiah was not in vain after all. Praise be to God!

We welcome your comments, feedback and questions - please post them in the comments below.

References
Smith, G. V. (2014). Interpreting the Prophetic Books: An Exegetical Handbook. (D. M. Howard Jr., Ed.) Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic.

https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Jeremiah.html

Lee, Peter Y. (2016). A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament. (Miles V. Van Pelt, Ed.) Wheaton, IL: Crossway.