Jeremiah 15:10-21
10 Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.
11 The LORD said:
"Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
12 Can anyone break iron,
The northern iron and the bronze?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
14 And I will make you cross over with your enemies
Into a land which you do not know;
For a fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you."
15 O LORD, You know;
Remember me and visit me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,
As waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus says the LORD:
"If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall stand before Me;
If you take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall;
And they will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you," says the LORD.
21 "I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible."
When we are overwhelmed and woe sets in as self pity washes over us as it did to Jeremiah under attack for doing what was right, we also can find solace for dejection in God’s words of grace and comfort to encourage and strengthen us. He did what was right according to His word and still suffered strife and contention with those of his own and God’s people through no fault of his own. This is a pattern to follow later in this passage for us and a shadow of the treatment all God’s people in Christ suffer for doing good as well (1 Peter 2:20-22). God encouraged Jeremiah that he would find a remnant with him and after him because of his faithfulness in that adversity and affliction. The sins of the people brought the fiery wrath of God upon them and the prophet called out to the LORD to spare him for faithfully following Him as best he could. He asked for patience for himself and God’s retribution on his enemies who pursued him. What was his joy and consolation of rejoicing in the overwhelming flood of opposition and oppression? It was God’s word, the scriptures which he consumed daily and hungrily, as well as knowing God had called and chosen him (Ephesians 1:4) as He has all His people in Christ from the beginning. His faith was in God’s work and acceptance and not his earning that favor as His according to His word. That is why we also must be people of His word, valiant for the truth and reveling in knowing all the scriptures that we may follow Him in confidence (Hebrews 10:35, 11:1) in our confession to the end. Jeremiah did not mock his enemies nor rejoice in God’s acceptance of him to taunt them, but held his peace in the suffering. He must have been thinking how the LORD’s retribution was punishment enough for them, something we would be wise to understand and live accordingly in spite of the hurt. God’s call and answer was repentance for the prophet and the people. For Jeremiah to turn back from woe and dejection to speak God’s word and for the people to respond and repent. He was to let them turn back to the LORD through Jeremiah but he was not to go back to fit into what they were doing (1 Peter 3:16-17). By holding firm to God’s word which he devoured and which nourished and strengthened him, Jeremiah would be able to prevail. God would save and deliver him from evil (Matthew 6:13, Galatians 1:4, 2 Timothy 4:18) and redeem us as He does all in Christ who love and follow Him according to His word. There is dejection at times, but remember that there is unending reassurance in God’s word! Good company aligns with those following God's word, not those who mock Him or live against how He tells us to do. Our hunger for His word must consume us to joy for the calling out and so work out our salvation in fearful trembling. His word must roll through both tongue and mind all through the day (Psalm 1:1-2).
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