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after we weep

Jeremiah 9:3-16 (JDV)

Jeremiah 9:3 They bent their tongue like their bow; lies and not faithfulness are strong in the land, because they go from evil to evil, and they do not take me into account. this is what Yahveh declares.

Jeremiah 9:4 Everyone has to be on guard against his friend. Don’t trust any brother, for every brother will certainly deceive, and every friend spread slander.

Jeremiah 9:5 Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies; they wear themselves out doing wrong.

Jeremiah 9:6 You live in a world of deception. In their deception they refuse to know me. This is what Yahveh declares.

Jeremiah 9:7 Therefore, this is what Yahveh of Armies says: I am about to refine them and test them, because what else can I do because of my dear people?

Jeremiah 9:8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow – they speak deception. With his mouth one speaks peaceably with his friend, but inwardly he sets up an ambush.

Jeremiah 9:9 Should I not punish them for these things? this is what Yahveh declares. Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?

Jeremiah 9:10 I will lift up weeping and a lament over the mountains, a dirge over the open country grazing land, because they have been so scorched that no one passes through. The sound of cattle is no longer heard. From the birds of the sky to the animals, everything has escaped – they have gone away.

Jeremiah 9:11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a jackals’ den. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, an uninhabited place.

Jeremiah 9:12 Who is the person wise enough to understand this? Who has Yahveh spoken to, that he can explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like an open country, so no one can pass through?

Jeremiah 9:13 Yahveh said, “It is because they abandoned my instruction, which I laid before them, and did not obey my voice or walk according to it.

Jeremiah 9:14 Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their heart and followed the Baals like their fathers taught them.”

Jeremiah 9:15 Therefore, this is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to feed this people wormwood and give them poisonous water to drink.

Jeremiah 9:16 I will scatter them among the nations that they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”

after we weep

Karen Hall [1] describes Jeremiah as “the weeping prophet” who “had much for which to weep. He was talking to an adulterous, unfaithful, lying people. Going from “one sin to another” they chose evil rather than acknowledging God. Jeremiah was angry, but full of compassion. It is easy to read through this chapter and substitute the events of our world for what was happening then.”

She suggests that our response to our generation should be the same: “Weep first, then become angry, then show compassion for the people of our world who do not know our Lord.” Surely our compassion is shown best the way Jeremiah showed it. He let his people know what God was thinking. It’s appropriate to weep over the evil around us. But we also need to speak up, because God is going to condemn people for their rebellious acts and lying tongues.

Lord, we are weeping over the evil all around us. Show us how to bring this rebellious world back to your truth.

[1] Maranatha Daily Devotional. “First We Weep.” Thursday, November 5, 2015.