If one were to measure success in ministry in terms of the number of ‘likes’ and ‘followers’, then Jeremiah was a flop! No one liked him nor the message he preached. That’s because over and over again, he lambasted the people of Israel for violating their covenant with God by abandoning Him and His ways. He likened their betrayal to that of the betrayal of a marriage that occurs in adultery. Despite repeated warnings and appeals, they would not repent but followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts (Jeremiah 18:12).
You can see why people avoided Jeremiah. They couldn’t stand him. In response, some of the people decided to discredit him and his ministry. They justified their decision by telling themselves there were other priests and prophets to advise and guide them (Jeremiah 18:18).
Not for the first time, Jeremiah laments to God (you can read about his previous laments in 11:18-23, 12:1-16, 15:10-18, 17:14-18). He rails against those seeking to bring him harm, calling down God’s judgement upon them for repaying his goodness with evil. All he has been trying to do is offer them an opportunity to repent of their sin and avert God’s divine judgement. “How ungrateful of them, Lord?”
He prays what we may consider an ‘inappropriate prayer’ found in verses 19 to 23, “Let their children starve! Let them be massacred in battle! Let their wives be childless and widowed, let their friends die and their proud young men be killed. Let cries of panic sound from their homes as you surprise them with war parties!…Don’t whitewash their crimes, don’t overlook a single sin! Round the bunch of them up before you. Strike while the iron of your anger is hot!” (Message).
Shocking words? You know what’s more shocking? There is no evidence God told Jeremiah off! Let me suggest three possible reasons. The first is God already knew what Jeremiah was thinking and feeling so there was no point in Jeremiah pretending! Secondly, Jeremiah voiced his anger and frustration to God. In other words, he took his struggles to God. Thirdly, Jeremiah’s cry of pain was borne out of love for his people. The deeper the love, the deeper the pain. Had he cared less, he would have hurt less and prayed less.
For those reasons, I believe Jeremiah’s brutally honest prayer was completely appropriate before God. He had a relationship with God that was conducive for such honesty, just like our Lord who cried out to God, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Matthew 26:39, NLT). Burying our pain and anger, keeping God at arm’s length from our struggles will only make things worse.
Instead, I believe God wants us to come to him just as we are, without fear but with honesty and confidence. God can handle our darkest moments and much more, including our faltering faith. We can all take a leaf out of Jeremiah’s book when it comes to prayer.
Christ in us the hope of glory!
Mark
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