Jer 8:18 | KingComments | STEP | Jeremiah has now been a prophet for many years, but his prophesying has been without results. Instead of being heartened by seeing that the people are listening, he only sees more apostasy ( ). The prospect of the very imminent destruction breaks his heart. He loves his people deeply, but his love is met with rejection. He knows the way of blessing for his people, but the people will not go that way. That’s how it can be with us when we see what people need and present it to them, but they flatly refuse the offer of grace. That hurts, not for ourselves, but for them. Jeremiah and Paul and Moses loved God’s people wholeheartedly and suffered their rejection of grace. More than all of them, the Lord Jesus suffered from the rejection of Him and His grace. Jeremiah hears the distant cries for help from his people ( ). His prophetic ear hears the people crying out for help even from the exile. The answer to the questions is that the LORD is most certainly in Zion and that her King is with her. But, the answer continues, why do the people who will soon ask if the LORD is in Zion now hold so fast to the idols from the foreign lands? That is the reason for His wrath. That is why He has had to surrender His people into the hands of enemies. The people reply that the harvest time is over ( ). The summer, the prosperous time, when the full yield of the land may be harvested, has ended, without anything to harvest. The promise of harvest is connected to obedience to the LORD. They have given up that obedience. They have also spiritually let pass by the acceptable time, the time when the LORD called for repentance and conversion (cf. ; ). Salvation is no longer within reach. This realization brings Jeremiah into great distress of soul ( ). The break is final. This breaks his heart and brings him to mourn. He pains himself asking for medicine and a physician ( ). Balm is used as medicine and also as a beauty aid ( ; ; ). It is a restorative, nice-smelling ointment. Its use does well to a person. But it is only available from the “physician” that is the LORD. They are both – the LORD as the Physician ( ) and His Word as the balm – available. So why didn’t the people make use of it?

‏ Jeremiah 8:18

The Sorrow of Jeremiah

Jeremiah has now been a prophet for many years, but his prophesying has been without results. Instead of being heartened by seeing that the people are listening, he only sees more apostasy (Jer 8:18). The prospect of the very imminent destruction breaks his heart. He loves his people deeply, but his love is met with rejection. He knows the way of blessing for his people, but the people will not go that way.

That’s how it can be with us when we see what people need and present it to them, but they flatly refuse the offer of grace. That hurts, not for ourselves, but for them. Jeremiah and Paul and Moses loved God’s people wholeheartedly and suffered their rejection of grace. More than all of them, the Lord Jesus suffered from the rejection of Him and His grace.

Jeremiah hears the distant cries for help from his people (Jer 8:19). His prophetic ear hears the people crying out for help even from the exile. The answer to the questions is that the LORD is most certainly in Zion and that her King is with her. But, the answer continues, why do the people who will soon ask if the LORD is in Zion now hold so fast to the idols from the foreign lands? That is the reason for His wrath. That is why He has had to surrender His people into the hands of enemies.

The people reply that the harvest time is over (Jer 8:20). The summer, the prosperous time, when the full yield of the land may be harvested, has ended, without anything to harvest. The promise of harvest is connected to obedience to the LORD. They have given up that obedience. They have also spiritually let pass by the acceptable time, the time when the LORD called for repentance and conversion (cf. Lk 19:43-44; 2Cor 6:2). Salvation is no longer within reach.

This realization brings Jeremiah into great distress of soul (Jer 8:21). The break is final. This breaks his heart and brings him to mourn. He pains himself asking for medicine and a physician (Jer 8:22). Balm is used as medicine and also as a beauty aid (Gen 37:25; Jer 46:11 ; Jer 51:8; Eze 27:17). It is a restorative, nice-smelling ointment. Its use does well to a person. But it is only available from the “physician” that is the LORD. They are both – the LORD as the Physician (Exo 15:16) and His Word as the balm – available. So why didn’t the people make use of it?