Our Old Testament reading from the Lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer for this week comes from the prophet Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah preached to the people of Judah shortly before and during the days when the Babylonians came and carried the Jewish people away captive, burning the capital city of Jerusalem, and destroying the Temple. This was one of the darkest times in the people’s history, with war, destruction, famine, and death all around. Even though this was a heavy burden due to the severity of the message, and though he faced personal danger from the people, Jeremiah remained faithful to the Lord and the calling he had to bring God’s message to the people.
Ever since the days following the death of Joshua, the Hebrew people had been prone to falling into the sin of idolatry, worshiping pagan idols, and disobeying God’s Law. There were periods of revival, particularly during the reigns of David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah, but following those times the people went back to their idols and evil ways. Many pretended to worship Yahweh, but He knew that their hearts were not true to Him. God has never, and will never accept worship of Him along with the mixing in of false and pagan practices. The nation had continued in sin now for so long that their punishment and destruction was inevitable, and Jeremiah brought that message to them.
Jeremiah did not gloat knowing that the people were to be grievously punished for their persistent sins. He had been told by God earlier to not pray for the people of Judah because of their sins (Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14), as God would not hear. However, he couldn’t help but to pray for them, even in spite of the terrible things they had personally done to him. He prayed for God’s mercy on them, as they were a nation called by His Name (vs. 7).
God, though, rejected Jeremiah’s prayer (vs. 10). The Lord said that it was useless to pray for such obstinately sinful people (vs. 11-12). It was not that God would not respond to a truly sincere and broken heart, crying to Him for mercy and forgiveness. God was rejecting Judah’s heartless formalism and insincerity. For centuries the people would sin, be punished, then return to the Lord, only to go back to their pagan idols and reject His Word again and again. They could follow all of the religious rituals they wanted, but it was meaningless if their hearts were not right with God.
The prophet proceeded to pray for the people anyway. He stood in the gap for them, vicariously confessing their sins, as if he and they were one. Jeremiah had not fallen into idolatry himself. He had not cast God’s Word aside, refusing to accept or obey it, yet he confessed as if he had. We see that several times in the Bible, where a man of God vicariously confessed for the sins of the people. Ezra did that shortly after some of the people returned to the land following their captivity (Ezra 9:5-15), and the prophet Daniel did, as well (Daniel 9:3-19). Jeremiah pleaded with God not to destroy His people for the sake of His own reputation among the nations. He reminded the Lord that His reputation was tied up with what happened to His people. Jeremiah also pleaded because of God’s Temple in Jerusalem, and on the basis of His covenant with the people. The Lord, though, had to judge the people of Judah for their chronic sinfulness. Unrepentance needed to be punished. Jeremiah would see with his own eyes the nation go into captivity and the Temple destroyed.
Are we praying for our own nation and the world, as they head further and further away from God and His Word, the Bible? Do we plead for them with tears, as Jeremiah did? The false prophets and religious leaders of Jeremiah’s day repeatedly told the people that everything was alright, and that God would never judge them, just like so many preachers do today. The Bible is clear, though, that the day of judgment is coming. We need more men and women like Jeremiah today, who will pray and plead with tears for their people. It was too late for the people of Jeremiah’s day, but is it too late for my country, for your country? Can we be another Jeremiah, or another Ezra and Daniel who will stand in the gap and pray for our people and nation?
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