SLIDE 4 Readings for Meditation Oh that I had in the wilderness a traveler’s lodging place; then would I leave my people and go from them for they are all adulterers, an assembly of perfidious men. (Jer. 9:2) “This verse reveals a glimpse of a tired, worn, discouraged prophet in
- ne of his lowest moments. It might be called “a passing shadow on a
great soul.” In his hour of vexation he imagines he would like to break away from people who do not deserve anything of him. How sweet to be relieved of all responsibility and all irritations! He was literally sick of watching the empty, godless, formal substitute for religion. All his days he prayed, loved, preached and warned, only to find the sort of unresponsiveness that seared his soul. These people were doomed
- anyway. Why have to carry on at the killing pace? It is good to know
that when Jeremiah had the privilege of leaving these same treacherous neighbors he chose to stay with them and give all the remaining days of his life doing his best with them.” Kyle M. Yates, Preaching from the Prophets
“Jeremiah is cruel in his treatment of the poor, defenseless idols that men use as substitutes for God. They are unresponsive sticks that have to be decorated so as to conceal the fact that they are only dead wood. Instead of carrying they must be carried. They must be fashioned, God
- fashions. No speech, no power, no breath, no intelligence, no worth, no
influence, and no permanence can be attributed to them. In contrast Yahweh is eternal, living, active, powerful. He creates, speaks, controls, influences, saves eternally. Why should men resort to false, useless works of mockery when they might have the constant presence of the eternal God? In the hour of supreme need the heart reaches out instinctively for satisfaction. Let that heart find the only genuine satisfaction in Yahweh of Hosts.”
Preaching from the Prophets
