Jer 9:2 | KingComments | STEP | Jeremiah’s soul struggle continues here. He is deeply concerned with the condition of his people and the disasters that are coming upon them. He suffers greatly that they have not listened ( ). He has an intense love for God’s people to whom he belongs with heart and soul. He wishes he had more tears to express his sorrow for all those who have perished and will perish as a result of God’s discipline ( ). What is written here has earned him the nickname “the weeping prophet’. He resembles the Lord Jesus here, Who also wept over the city ( ). It is also reminiscent of Paul’s sorrow for his brothers after the flesh ( ). Do we also weep for the condition of God’s people, both generally and in the local church where we are? Or do we avoid these feelings and prefer to indulge in the ‘fun’ aspects of being a Christian? Do we prefer to be entertained rather than exhorted? Jeremiah would prefer not to have anything more to do with this people at all by now ( ; cf. ). They are all, each and every one, “adulterers”. The whole is “an assembly of treacherous men”. There will have been exceptions, but this is the characteristic of the whole that is observed by all who see it. Jeremiah does not only observe it. What he sees torments his soul and he expresses it. In this he also aligns his feelings with those of God, Who’s eyes also “are too pure to approve evil” ( ). This is opposite , but does not contradict it. There he carries the people on his heart. Here he sees their sins. He loves the people, but he hates their sins. He wants to get away from such an adulterous and treacherous troop, that he may not have to see their sins any longer. The fact that his preaching does not seem to have any effect may also play a role in this desire. What is the point of continuing to preach? Such a wish can arise in anyone who does a work for the Lord, where the result only seems to be even more unfaithfulness. Going to live in “a wayfarers’ lodging place”, by the way, will not give the coveted peace. We can compare it to retiring to a monastery. It is not an option anyway for a believer, one of whose tasks is to witness to his Savior in his daily life. We must also remember that in a monastery we take ourselves with us. Learning how to live to the glory of the Lord in accordance with the truth in a wicked world and an apostate Christianity, we can only do in the practice of daily life in dealing with Him.

‏ Jeremiah 9:2

The Complaint of the Prophet

Jeremiah’s soul struggle continues here. He is deeply concerned with the condition of his people and the disasters that are coming upon them. He suffers greatly that they have not listened (Jer 9:1). He has an intense love for God’s people to whom he belongs with heart and soul. He wishes he had more tears to express his sorrow for all those who have perished and will perish as a result of God’s discipline (Jer 13:17 ; Jer 14:17).

What is written here has earned him the nickname “the weeping prophet’. He resembles the Lord Jesus here, Who also wept over the city (Lk 19:41). It is also reminiscent of Paul’s sorrow for his brothers after the flesh (Rom 9:1-5 ; Rom 10:1). Do we also weep for the condition of God’s people, both generally and in the local church where we are? Or do we avoid these feelings and prefer to indulge in the ‘fun’ aspects of being a Christian? Do we prefer to be entertained rather than exhorted?

Jeremiah would prefer not to have anything more to do with this people at all by now (Jer 9:2; cf. Psa 55:6-8). They are all, each and every one, “adulterers”. The whole is “an assembly of treacherous men”. There will have been exceptions, but this is the characteristic of the whole that is observed by all who see it. Jeremiah does not only observe it. What he sees torments his soul and he expresses it.

In this he also aligns his feelings with those of God, Who’s eyes also “are too pure to approve evil” (Hab 1:13a). This is opposite Jer 9:1, but does not contradict it. There he carries the people on his heart. Here he sees their sins. He loves the people, but he hates their sins. He wants to get away from such an adulterous and treacherous troop, that he may not have to see their sins any longer. The fact that his preaching does not seem to have any effect may also play a role in this desire. What is the point of continuing to preach? Such a wish can arise in anyone who does a work for the Lord, where the result only seems to be even more unfaithfulness.

Going to live in “a wayfarers’ lodging place”, by the way, will not give the coveted peace. We can compare it to retiring to a monastery. It is not an option anyway for a believer, one of whose tasks is to witness to his Savior in his daily life. We must also remember that in a monastery we take ourselves with us. Learning how to live to the glory of the Lord in accordance with the truth in a wicked world and an apostate Christianity, we can only do in the practice of daily life in dealing with Him.