“Yahweh will not save you.” Israel is destined for destruction. The four kinds of destroyers give rise to the image of the four horsemen of Revelations. Jeremiah wonders why he was born to be such a contentious fellow. But, God knows how he has prayer for these people. Iron from the north which Judah cannot break will result in exile. The prophet laments. He has found great joy and delight in his ministry in spite of the fact that it has led to ostracism. Will this lead to utter rejection of Israel? Is Yahweh going to let him down, becoming to him like waters that fail? Although Jeremiah sees no hope in the future he clings to his integrity to speak the truth as he knows it whatever the cost. Jeremiah explains the reason for drought and military disaster as a defection in the heart where it is written with a pen of iron and engraved with a point of diamond. So hard is the heart of Judah, and so deeply engrained her betrayal, that the guilt cannot be removed. Exile must follow. The prayer in Chapter 17 uses the images of drought, desperation, dust, and earth to describe humankind in need of healing. God is the fountain of living water. How many times have we turned away from the Living Water and wondered why we were withering?
“Yahweh will not save you.” Israel is destined for destruction. The four kinds of destroyers give rise to the image of the four horsemen of Revelations. Jeremiah wonders why he was born to be such a contentious fellow. But, God knows how he has prayer for these people. Iron from the north which Judah cannot break will result in exile. The prophet laments. He has found great joy and delight in his ministry in spite of the fact that it has led to ostracism. Will this lead to utter rejection of Israel? Is Yahweh going to let him down, becoming to him like waters that fail? Although Jeremiah sees no hope in the future he clings to his integrity to speak the truth as he knows it whatever the cost. Jeremiah explains the reason for drought and military disaster as a defection in the heart where it is written with a pen of iron and engraved with a point of diamond. So hard is the heart of Judah, and so deeply engrained her betrayal, that the guilt cannot be removed. Exile must follow. The prayer in Chapter 17 uses the images of drought, desperation, dust, and earth to describe humankind in need of healing. God is the fountain of living water. How many times have we turned away from the Living Water and wondered why we were withering?
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