Anguish....
Jeremiah 4:10-21 Then I said, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You will have peace,' when the sword is at our throats."
[11] At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows towards my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; [12] a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
[13] Look! He advances like the clouds,
his chariots come like a whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us! We are ruined!
[14] O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
How long will you harbour wicked thoughts?
[15] A voice is announcing from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
[16] "Tell this to the nations,
proclaim it to Jerusalem:
'A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
[17] They surround her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled against me,' "
declares the Lord.
[18] "Your own conduct and actions
have brought this upon you.
This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!"
[19] Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
I writhe in pain.
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds within me,
I cannot keep silent.
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
I have heard the battle cry.
[20] Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
[21] How long must I see the battle standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
We have a habit of distancing ourselves from blame. When something goes wrong then we try to find ways in which it wasn’t our fault. We try not to be identified with failure. Yet the Bible writers took a different line. For Ezekiel, who sttod in the gap, for Nehemiah, who confessed the sins of his people, to Moses, who counted on the reputation of the Lord, and here to Jeremiah who feels anguish. When we try to avoid blame it is often because we are actually indifferent to what has taken place. But here Jeremiah is showing a real emotional connection with the events that are about to take place. For him it is not a case of ‘I told you so’ and of sitting back with a sense of self-righteous smugness, but rather real pain that a great disaster is about to engulf his people. I wonder if our reaction and prayers would mirror his for our communities and nations, and the people who form them, if we truly sensed God’s judgement coming upon us…..
[11] At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows towards my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; [12] a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
[13] Look! He advances like the clouds,
his chariots come like a whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us! We are ruined!
[14] O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
How long will you harbour wicked thoughts?
[15] A voice is announcing from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
[16] "Tell this to the nations,
proclaim it to Jerusalem:
'A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
[17] They surround her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled against me,' "
declares the Lord.
[18] "Your own conduct and actions
have brought this upon you.
This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!"
[19] Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
I writhe in pain.
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds within me,
I cannot keep silent.
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
I have heard the battle cry.
[20] Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
[21] How long must I see the battle standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
We have a habit of distancing ourselves from blame. When something goes wrong then we try to find ways in which it wasn’t our fault. We try not to be identified with failure. Yet the Bible writers took a different line. For Ezekiel, who sttod in the gap, for Nehemiah, who confessed the sins of his people, to Moses, who counted on the reputation of the Lord, and here to Jeremiah who feels anguish. When we try to avoid blame it is often because we are actually indifferent to what has taken place. But here Jeremiah is showing a real emotional connection with the events that are about to take place. For him it is not a case of ‘I told you so’ and of sitting back with a sense of self-righteous smugness, but rather real pain that a great disaster is about to engulf his people. I wonder if our reaction and prayers would mirror his for our communities and nations, and the people who form them, if we truly sensed God’s judgement coming upon us…..
posted by Gordon at
8:28 am
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