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NOTES for Jer 14:1-22

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1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.
2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.
6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
10 Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
11 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
17 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.
19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!
20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
21 Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
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Finding himself on the brink of destruction, a person is forced to rethink his ideas about God. Jeremiah stands between two incompatible ways of understanding the situation. On the one hand, the disasters taking place come from God; they are punishment for unbelief, and therefore God will not help or even listen to pleas for help. On the other hand, the prophet cannot relinquish his certainty that “God's name has been called over us,” that despite everything God remains Israel's only hope and salvation. In this paradox, the demanding, just, and punishing God meets the God who forgives and saves. There is only one way to resolve this contradiction: to unite these two opposing images in the single word “YOU.” This is prayer; this is repentance; this is a direct encounter with the reality of God, which cannot be fitted into any neat system of ideas.

Other notes

 
For Jer 14:1-22
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.
2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.
6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
10 Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
11 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
17 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.
19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!
20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
21 Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
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Again, as in the days of Elijah, the people have sunk into pagan wickedness, and again drought has fallen on the land - but now everything is much worse: in Elijah's time, a considerable number of faithful people who had not bowed before pagan deities remained hidden from outside eyes, but now...  Read more

Again, as in the days of Elijah, the people have sunk into pagan wickedness, and again drought has fallen on the land - but now everything is much worse: in Elijah's time, a considerable number of faithful people who had not bowed before pagan deities remained hidden from outside eyes, but now the faithful remnant has grown very thin, and the Lord turns away from the unfaithful people to such a degree that He even asks Jeremiah not to pray for them.

Yet we should note that the prohibition on praying for sinners does not deny the possibility of repentant prayer by the sinners themselves. The Lord had no intention of refusing the people His help, but any good given to an unrepentant people will not benefit them.

An important lesson taught here is the need for careful discernment toward words proclaimed by prophets. Sadly, not every prophecy comes from God; many of them are dreams of one's own heart, mistaken for a voice from above. But the imaginary structures of false prophets will surely collapse, and the false hopes they offer will vanish.

The Lord, however, sternly and impartially warns the people about the disasters they have deserved. But a true prophet, proclaiming His will and not his own wishes, does not lose hope in His mercy. Aware of the full justice of God's anger, such a prophet still does not accept the destruction of the covenant between the Lord and His people, no matter how small the number of the faithful has become.

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For Jer 14:7
7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
Hide
The prophet Jeremiah conducts a dialogue with God. Sometimes he speaks for himself, sometimes on behalf of the people of Israel. And God answers both Jeremiah and the people. More precisely...  Read more

The prophet Jeremiah conducts a dialogue with God. Sometimes he speaks for himself, sometimes on behalf of the people of Israel. And God answers both Jeremiah and the people. More precisely: God calls the prophet and speaks to him, addressing him now personally and now, through him, the people.

And here we read what Jeremiah brings to God on behalf of the people: repentance, true repentance, in which, besides awareness of one's sin, there is an appeal to God as the One who can do something to correct the situation. Let us note that here there is not the slightest attempt at self-justification or at searching for reasons for one's lawlessness; there is only statement of fact and hope in God: hope that He will do something with us "for His name's sake" - not for our past merits and virtues, but solely according to His own inner essence.

Well then, all this, about repentance, is quite fitting for our own time. But a couple of questions remain over which it is worth reflecting: what right does Jeremiah have to offer repentance on behalf of an entire people? And another: what should one do if one sees the apostasy and lawlessness of a people, but there is no national repentance?

Hide
 
For Jer 14:7
7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
Hide
The prophet Jeremiah dialogues with God. Sometimes he speaks on his behalf, sometimes on behalf of the Israeli people. And God answers and to Jeremiah, and to the people...  Read more

The prophet Jeremiah dialogues with God. Sometimes he speaks on his behalf, sometimes on behalf of the Israeli people. And God answers and to Jeremiah, and to the people. No, not like that. More exactly: God calls the prophet and speaks to him, addressing either him personally, or through him to the people.

And here is we read what Jeremiah brings to God on behalf of the people. Yes, repentance. The real repentance, in which, except the awareness of one’s sin, there is a conversion to God as to the One, Who can make something to remedy the situation. Let us notice that here there is no slightest attempt of self-justification or the research of the reasons of our iniquities - only an observation. And hope on God: that He will do something with us "for His name’s sake" - not for our past merits and qualities, but exceptionally by His internal essence.

Well, all this about repentance - and suits completely and for our time. But here we are, there is a couple of questions, on which it seems to me, will be necessary to think about: which right Jeremiah has to bring repentance in the name of a whole nation? And still: what to do, if you see the apostasy and the iniquities of the people, and there is no national repentance, the repentance of the people?

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