From Jeremiah 8:18 My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick. 19 Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land: "Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" ("Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their foreign idols?") 20 "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." 21 For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?1 O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!
Crying happens a lot in the Bible. Stories are told of great sadness and calamity, and weeping is the natural response to loss and hurt. Yet, it is comforting to know that in the last book it says "crying shall be no more."
Today's passage is one of the reasons Jeremiah is known as the Weeping Prophet. His heart was deeply rooted in love for the people of God and for God; his heart broke as often as God's, and part of the reason is shared here. The prophet heard the cries of the poor from all over Israel and the question was, Where is God? God's response, Jeremiah knew, was "Why have (my people) provoked me to anger with their images, with their foreign idols?" The people had made their decision and had chosen wrong. Despite all the signs pointing to Door Number One, they chose Door Number Three. Door Number One leads to faithfulness in the Lord. Door Number Three leads away from it. For you younger readers, this is a reference to several games shows, where the contestant is presented with three doors, and they have to choose the one where they believe the prize is located. The difference is, we know which door to pick, but we don't always choose that one.
Jeremiah's grief is mentioned several times. "My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick" in verse 18. In verse 21, "For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me." Then his questions, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? And then the concluding verse of this passage, "O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and nigh for the slain of my poor people."
This passage brings to mind the song "Crying" by Roy Orbison, though that is a song of heartbreak over the loss of a girl; can you imagine God's heartbreak over the loss of His children, who thought still living, have chosen to live as if God were dead. In keeping with the theme of solid relationships over personal profit; this begs the question, what do we gain by leaving the ways of God for the ways we believe will lead us to wealth or fame?
PRAYER: Loving God, help us to stay on the way that leads to life and the blessings that come by following and obeying You. Bless those that may have strayed. Help us to be a light that leads back to You. This we pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
