Sword, Famine And Pestilence

Topic: Superficial
Passage: Jeremiah 14:1–12

July 24, 2020

Commentary

These verses describe a great drought upon the land (vv. 1-2). One of the covenant curses God threatened to send on the disobedient nation was a drought (Deut. 28:22-24). In a land where rainfall is marginal, a drought can have far-reaching effects. As a consequence of the people’s sin, a severe drought had come upon the land (v. 1). The country and cities mourn (v. 2). There is no water to fill their cisterns (vv. 3-4). The nobles sent their children to the cisterns in search of water, but to no avail. The “lads” and “plowmen” covered their heads from shame. Even the “deer” (v. 5) gave birth and then left their young because there was no grass. The “wild donkeys” (v. 6) sniff the air for moisture. Their “eyes” have “failed” from weakness because there is no grass.

Jeremiah testifies to the Lord that our backslidings are many and we have sinned against You (v. 7). He questions God as to why He should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night (v. 8)? Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us"  (v. 9). The severity of the drought forced the people to cry to God for deliverance. However, God knew that their confession was only superficial. They claimed God as their Lord, but they refused to restrain their feet from following evil (v. 10). Though God had the power to help, He did not answer the people’s pleas for rain. He even told Jeremiah not to pray for the people because their fasting and sacrifices were not from the heart (v. 11). He vowed to destroy them with the sword, famine, and plague (v. 12).

Application

God told Jeremiah not to pray for the people. Why pray when He was less important to them than the handmade idols they were worshiping. If I am trusting something other than God when things are going well, I will be content to trust in this false god when trouble comes?

Jeremiah 14:1– 12 (NET)

1 This was the Lord’s message to Jeremiah about the drought.

2 “The people of Judah are in mourning. The people in her cities are pining away. They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem.

3 The leading men of the cities send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns, but they do not find any water there. They return with their containers empty. Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands.

4 They are dismayed because the ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers, too, are dismayed and bury their faces in their hands.

5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn in the field because there is no grass.

6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops and pant for breath like jackals. Their eyes are strained looking for food, because there is none to be found.”

7 Then I said, “O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name even though our sins speak out against us. Indeed, we have turned away from you many times. We have sinned against you.

8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes. You have saved them when they were in trouble. Why have you become like a resident foreigner in the land? Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?

9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless, like a champion who cannot save anyone? You are indeed with us, and we belong to you. Do not abandon us!”

10 Then the Lord spoke about these people. “They truly love to go astray. They cannot keep from running away from me. So I am not pleased with them. I will now call to mind the wrongs they have done and punish them for their sins.”

11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people! 12 Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.”