"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23, NIV
Jeremiah is often called the "weeping prophet" because of how much he lamented during his prophetic time period. He was often ridiculed and laughed at, jailed and mistreated because of the Word of God that he preached to the people. His prophetic message ranges from a period of around 626-629 B.C. until some time after Jerusalem is destroyed around 586 B.C. So, he had a long period of trial. During this time, because Jeremiah lived among the people even when in captivity when they suffered he also suffered. It was bad enough that in Lamentations he makes mention of women cooking their own children due to starvation.
Jeremiah didn't have a very hopefully message. He lived during a time period when the Babylonians were rising in power. God ended up using the Babylonians to inflict judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem due to their idol worship and numerous other sins. The people had taken upon themselves to worship the sun, moon and stars and many of the pagan gods around them. This included at times human sacrifice to pagan gods and sexual immorality.
Jeremiah was not viewed a success because of his many converts. In fact, of those who believed in him we know of very few except for a faithful scribe named Baruch who wrote and helped Jeremiah spread the message he was preaching. Other than that, he left Jerusalem as a captive of those who remained and went down to Egypt even though he was telling the people not to go there.
It makes it all the more remarkable that Jeremiah has these words of hope in the middle of a oracle dedicated to lamentation over the people's sins. Jeremiah understood that it wasn't because of God's unfaithfulness that the people experienced all of their heartache and pain. In fact, for almost 40 years Jeremiah had be trying to warn the people to repent. Jeremiah understood that God is faithful when man is not. He says in jeremiah 3:22-25
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good t othose whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him." Lamentations 3:22-25, NIV
This is a reminder that God is still good and his desire is to show compassion and love to others. His discipline is proof of his love. His patience with the people waiting over 40 years for them to repent was an act of love. God didn't destroy all the people overnight like he could have. It was 606 B.C when Jerusalem was first destroyed and the king and princes taken captive. It was further attacked again around 597 B.C and then later burned to the ground 586 B.C. God gave them time to repent and turn back to him because of his love. Because of his holiness, he couldn't ignore the sins the people were committing.
God called out to the people in Jeremiah 3:12, "Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord, I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful, declares the Lord, I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree and have not obeyed me, declares the Lord." The Lord asks them to consider how it has gone for them since they rebelled and to realize that it is in their best interest to return to him. God says in Jeremiah 2:19b "Consider then a realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me."
I believe this is the same message that the church should heed today. That in many cases people who claim to be Christians are worshipping other things in their hearts and minds and not completely in love with the Lord and following after him with their whole heart. He would say the same thing to us today to consider and realize that things are better when we follow the Lord with all our hearts.
Jeremiah is often called the "weeping prophet" because of how much he lamented during his prophetic time period. He was often ridiculed and laughed at, jailed and mistreated because of the Word of God that he preached to the people. His prophetic message ranges from a period of around 626-629 B.C. until some time after Jerusalem is destroyed around 586 B.C. So, he had a long period of trial. During this time, because Jeremiah lived among the people even when in captivity when they suffered he also suffered. It was bad enough that in Lamentations he makes mention of women cooking their own children due to starvation.
Jeremiah didn't have a very hopefully message. He lived during a time period when the Babylonians were rising in power. God ended up using the Babylonians to inflict judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem due to their idol worship and numerous other sins. The people had taken upon themselves to worship the sun, moon and stars and many of the pagan gods around them. This included at times human sacrifice to pagan gods and sexual immorality.
Jeremiah was not viewed a success because of his many converts. In fact, of those who believed in him we know of very few except for a faithful scribe named Baruch who wrote and helped Jeremiah spread the message he was preaching. Other than that, he left Jerusalem as a captive of those who remained and went down to Egypt even though he was telling the people not to go there.
It makes it all the more remarkable that Jeremiah has these words of hope in the middle of a oracle dedicated to lamentation over the people's sins. Jeremiah understood that it wasn't because of God's unfaithfulness that the people experienced all of their heartache and pain. In fact, for almost 40 years Jeremiah had be trying to warn the people to repent. Jeremiah understood that God is faithful when man is not. He says in jeremiah 3:22-25
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good t othose whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him." Lamentations 3:22-25, NIV
This is a reminder that God is still good and his desire is to show compassion and love to others. His discipline is proof of his love. His patience with the people waiting over 40 years for them to repent was an act of love. God didn't destroy all the people overnight like he could have. It was 606 B.C when Jerusalem was first destroyed and the king and princes taken captive. It was further attacked again around 597 B.C and then later burned to the ground 586 B.C. God gave them time to repent and turn back to him because of his love. Because of his holiness, he couldn't ignore the sins the people were committing.
God called out to the people in Jeremiah 3:12, "Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord, I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful, declares the Lord, I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree and have not obeyed me, declares the Lord." The Lord asks them to consider how it has gone for them since they rebelled and to realize that it is in their best interest to return to him. God says in Jeremiah 2:19b "Consider then a realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me."
I believe this is the same message that the church should heed today. That in many cases people who claim to be Christians are worshipping other things in their hearts and minds and not completely in love with the Lord and following after him with their whole heart. He would say the same thing to us today to consider and realize that things are better when we follow the Lord with all our hearts.
