by Katrina
LINK: Jeremiah 15
BACKGROUND
Chapter 14 ended with Jeremiah trying to intercede for the people. Chapter 15 opens with God's response to Jeremiah (vs. 1-9). Even if Moses and Samuel joined Jeremiah in his pleading, God would still refuse to relent! Judah would face destruction soon.
The conversation continues with Jeremiah's despondent cry, wishing he had never been born and complaining about being rejected by men (vs. 10). God reminds Jeremiah that He has good purposes for the events in Jeremiah's life, and He has things completely under control. But He will turn His wrath on Jeremiah if he doesn't repent of his attitude. Jeremiah was questioning God's ways and God won't tolerate it.
Jeremiah pleas for God to hear him and changes his attitude. He enjoys his relationship with the Lord and is glad for it. Yet he ends his plea with an accusation that God is being fickle (vs. 18).
God concludes the conversation (vs. 19-21) with a rebuke and a promise to Jeremiah. God invites Jeremiah to repent and be His spokesman. And once again, God promises to make him strong and to deliver him from the anger of the people.
REFLECTION/APPLICATION
When Jeremiah considered his relationship with the Lord, he said, "Your words were found and I ate them. And Your words became for me a joy and a delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts." Let's delight in God's word as well as in our relationship with Him.
PRAYER
Father, thank you for your love for me and your provision for me. You have made me your child. May I continue to learn to trust You as One who always knows what's best for me and will always give me strength to endure. May I cherish You and Your word always. In the name of Jesus, amen.
2 comments:
That verse about God's words fits right in with Psalm 119! (Or maybe I should say that Ps. 119 fits in with Jeremiah!) I have often thought that I would not like being Jeremiah. He had a hard and lonely task, preaching to iron. Don't you think that in vv. 11-14, God is speaking about Judah rather than Jeremiah? (He talks about "sins throughout your territories.") I get the idea that the Lord isn't reprimanding Jeremiah, but reassuring him. Jeremiah is identifying with Judah. Hard passage,with Jeremiah and Judah so entwined!
Yes, I think those verses are talking about Judah. I wasn't very clear in my post on when the speaker changed. Sometimes it's hard to tell!
I'm like you, I would not like to be Jeremiah! He had such a difficult, lifelong task.
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