Jeremiah had an incredibly difficult ministry. He was sent to pronounce judgment upon an ungodly people who were unwilling to turn from their wicked ways. Jeremiah obeyed the Lord, he pleads with the people, he delivers God’s message, but the people refuse to listen. Amongst other things, one response we see from Jeremiah is his own despair at the situation at hand. God’s people stood under His sure judgment, and they wouldn’t amend their ways. Truly, this would be heartbreaking for the prophet!
He writes, “My joy is gone; grief is upon me, my heart is sick within me” (18:18) and “Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” (9:1). Jeremiah despaired over what was happening. The people’s persistent sin resulted in God’s judgment upon them and Jeremiah was stuck watching the consequences of sin that he warned about. As we saw in previous weeks, it’s almost as if the prophets’ message many times was, “The bridge is out ahead! Stop!” and Jeremiah is now watching them drive over the edge with the wrong pedal pushed to the floor. His response? Heartbreak. For this he’s famously known as “the weeping prophet.”
I wonder at times how calloused we get as the people of God in the 21st century. We hear tragedy after tragedy, we hear of moral failing after moral failing, we see time and time again things that will eventually desensitize us. So much so, that frequently when we hear of a famous Christian with a moral failing, we almost aren’t surprised anymore. We can grow indifferent to these things. We can become callous.
In response, I think Jeremiah’s ministry can be a helpful reminder of grief that should accompany sin and coming judgment. We should grieve over our own sin, we should grieve over sin in the church, and we should grieve the state of the world that rejects God. Sadness and grief can be often overlooked. We can be angry about things in the world. We can be angry about moral failings in the church. We can be angry about our own sin. At times, righteous anger is certainly appropriate, but let’s not forget that sadness should also be present at times too.
Paul offers a helpful charge to the Christian concerning this in his letter to the Ephesians. I like how the NLT renders it, “And do you bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live” (Eph. 4:30a, NLT). When we think of sin in these terms, it changes things. Sin not only is a cause for God’s just wrath, but His Holy Spirit is heartbroken by sin. Certainly, this concerns the world in general, and especially in the lives of believers who profess to know Christ. Jeremiah wept over sin. We ought to weep over sin, knowing that it hurts the heart of God. I love how Hillsong worship once put it in their song “Hosanna”, the bridge says, “Break my heart for what breaks yours. Everything I am for your Kingdom’s cause.”
Lord, break our hearts for what breaks yours.
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