Sorrow for the Doomed

Jeremiah 4:19-31 

19 O my soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.

20 Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
21 How long will I see the standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 "For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are silly children,
And they have no understanding.
They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge."

23 I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.

25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the LORD,
By His fierce anger.

27 For thus says the LORD:
"The whole land shall be desolate;
Yet I will not make a full end.
28 For this shall the earth mourn,
And the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have purposed and will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.

29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.

30 "And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
Your lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.

31 "For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She spreads her hands, saying,
'Woe is me now, for my soul is weary
Because of murderers!'

This is a seemingly dark passage with sorrow for the doomed of the LORD’s hand because of their persistently unrepentant sin.  God Himself cries through Jeremiah’s words with a wounded heart for the judgment on his people as the battle approaches.  Destruction and defeat are looming nigh.  God tells how foolish His people are with no understanding to know Him because they reject His word and pursue knowing evil and not good, proving the serpent’s lie in the garden (Genesis 3:4) that they will not know good and evil, but evil only.  They had no understanding of what was good apart from knowing Him through His word and adherence to all He says.  God’s fierce anger coming on their sin would make the earth appear as it did in the beginning before He created mankind, “without form and void,” as in Genesis 1:1-2 in the beginning.  There would be only a desolate wilderness remaining in His presence after He wiped them off the earth in His wrath on their sin.  But He promised not to make a complete end of it all, even though God would not turn back from His judgment.  What would His people do then when they try to act as if they still were ruling and acting as if a prostitute as a nation?  The nation was at a crossroads as a woman in labor for the very first time, experiencing intense pain and anxiety over the outcome.  The message was to incite repentance and not to suffer judgment, just as the gospel continues to cry out to everyone He calls now.  May we who know and follow Him also feel the prophet’s sorrow for the doom in humility and thanksgiving for His grace of forgiveness!