FOUR GREAT NEEDS EXPRESSED BY JEREMIAH

Jer. 9:1-3

Morning Meditation 3/13/17

Verses 1-3 say, "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD."

To say that Jeremiah was a great prophet comes far short of the mark. Every prophet of God was a great man and had traits that marked that greatness. Jeremiah was a man whose identifying trait was tears. He is called the weeping prophet. Herbert Lockyer says of Jeremiah:

"This man who was born a priest but became a prophet by the divine call of God comes before us as one of the grandest of men of Old Testament history. He was called to the prophetic office through a vision (Jer. 1:1,4-16) and labored for some forty years. The book Jeremiah wrote gives us more details of his life, methods and work, as an Old Testament prophet, than of any other prophet . . . His call antedated his birth (Jer. 1:5), and he was consecrated to God before his birth. He was distinguished by his humility and native modesty. He felt he was a child and not mature enough to function as a prophet. With Browning he could say:

'I was not born

Informed and fearless from the first, but shrank

From aught which marked me out apart from men:

I would have lived their life, and died their death

Lost in their ranks, eluding destiny.'

"But Jeremiah could not elude destiny." --All The Men of The Bible by Herbert Lockyer, page 183.

There are four great needs revealed by Jeremiah in these three verses. First,

THE NEED FOR TEARS

The nation of Israel had gone away from God. Jeremiah had received God's message which warned of the captivity as a means of chastening for sins. Israel needed someone to weep over them. Jeremiah had wept and expressed himself in verse one, "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters of my people!"

1. His desire expressed. He felt tears would help. Jeremiah had a message of condemnation but it did not come from an angry heart. Jeremiah wept because he had God's analysis of the situation first hand. He knew that God was going to judge this people, and he also knew if they would repent, it could stay His judgment. He saw the hardness of heart, and it was evident that they were not going to repent. Jeremiah's desire for tears was to weep tears in advance of coming judgment. Israel needed to see the kind of weeping that they would be doing in a short time. And it did come to pass. Concerning Jeremiah's desire for tears of compassion for his people. He says, " . . . that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" The words "my people" reveal Jeremiah's compassionate identification with his nation.

America needs someone to weep over her. When the Mayflower brought her human cargo to the shores of this country, the first pilgrim foot that touched the ground was for the purpose of finding a place for freedom of worship. This country was founded on the Bible and soul-liberty to worship God after the dictates of ones own conscience. The first schools had the Bible as an important part of the curriculum. (It would be good for those who doubt, to go the library and see if you can read a little in McGuffey's readers, (William Holmes, 1800-1873. American educator who compiled the McGuffey Eclectic Readers 1836-1857, schoolbooks that combined reading lessons with moralistic teachings.) --American Heritage Dictionary.

Each day was begun by prayer. I remember when it was still so. Then came the day when they kicked the Bible and prayer out of the public schools. And can you imagine, they did it in the name of liberty? Any supreme court that would take the constitution to rule against the Bible and prayer in public schools is brain-dead. No one in America has to fear the constitution of this great country. What we need to fear is the misinterpretation of it.

2. The seriousness he expressed. Jeremiah said that these tears were needed night and day. Jeremiah's burden was not just a passing burden. This burden was to consume him for a lifetime. No nation can commit the sins that the nation of Israel committed without the judgment of God coming upon them. America has done this, is guilty, and her sins weigh heavy on her conscience. There are three things I have noticed. First, the nation has been making an attempt to discredit God and the Bible. This gives a temporary ease of conscience. Second, the TV shows teach that to do what the Bible says not to do is OK. This gives a temporary ease of conscience. Third, you will notice that the entertainment shows that make miserable people laugh are the most popular shows. Satan is using these three things. Move God and the Bible out of the picture and you do not have to worry about accountability. Teach that what you are doing wrong is OK, and you can continue live without seeing the need for change. Let the TV entertain you and make you laugh, and it helps you forget the real problem. Then Jeremiah expresses,

THE NEED FOR RETREAT

He puts it this way. "Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them!"

John Gill says of the place in the wilderness, "Such as travelers take up with in a desert, when they are benighted, and cannot reach a town or village. This the prophet chose, partly that he might have an opportunity to give vent to his grief, being alone; for which reason he did not desire to be in cities and populous places, where he might be amused and diverted while his people were in distress: and partly to show his sympathy, not being able to bear the sight of their misery; and also some degree of indignation at their impieties, which had brought ruin upon them; on account of which it was more eligible to dwell with the wild beasts of the desert than with them in his native country."

First, the place in the wilderness would be a place removed so that Jeremiah would not have to see what was going on. What he saw broke his heart. Second, the place of solitude would be a place where he could in an undisturbed environment cry out to God for the repentance of the nation. Jeremiah may have concluded that the people had gone so far that only prayer would change the people. Sometimes you get the idea that preaching is just not going to help. No one is listening!

I believe there are many God called preachers out there that have forsaken their calling and are trying to hide in something that is equivalent to Jeremiah's wilderness referred to here. They had noble beginnings and a vision that this holy calling upon their lives would make a difference. After years of prayer and preparation they discovered that Satan was ready for them. They were called to a church that was so bound by committees that it completely raped them of their God given responsibility as a pastor. They discovered that one could sooner interfere with a funeral by a resurrection than they could interfere with the carnal determination of a deacon board that felt that they were there to keep the preacher from doing what he thought God wanted him to do.

Some of the most miserable men I have ever met were hen-pecked husbands who could not lead their home without a fight with a wife that said, "You may be the head but I am the neck and I will turn you when and in what direction I want." So the man just says the fight isn't worth it and divorce is not an option. So the man just settles down and decides to live out his life in peace and let her have her way. That kind of a woman is hard to pastor also. Since she has 99% of the say in the home, she wants it in the church also. The characteristic of a hen-pecked husband is humility. Many in the church see this and think it is the "fruit of the Spirit" and elect him as a deacon. You guessed it. Now the wife is actually on the deacon board through her obedient husband. Now, ladies don't get upset with me. I'm just telling you how it is in many cases too numerous to believe.

There are many God called preachers who were so stripped of the authority to lead the church that they have found a way to ease their conscience doing something else. And the result is that the Church of the Living God is languishing for a God appointed leader. And the preacher, in spite of our sympathy with him, will one day give an account for abandoning his calling. Jeremiah wanted a "lodging place of wayfaring men" but he was never able to fulfill that desire. He was called and he stayed with it. Next Jeremiah saw,

THE NEED OF REPENTANCE

He names some of their sins that they needed to repent of: ". . . for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil . . ." Sexual immorality was the rule of the day. Does it sound like anything you have heard? They are "treacherous men." Are you aware that millions of unborn babies die every year with the endorsement of our President and leaders? A little girl can go to a motel room and have a baby she doesn't want, and put it in a trash bag and throw it away, and if the law discovers who did it, they will prosecute her for murder, and sentence her to a long prison term. Now if she had done that to the SAME BABY two or three months before, the same group who condemned her, would protect her and say she had a right to do it. I believe if you could see God's face, it would be red with anger at this country and its leaders. Jeremiah identifies "lying" as a sin God is upset with. The divorce rate is just a simple illustration of the liars that fill this country. They said, "until death do us part." Well, they lied about it and dare anyone representing God to call attention to it. Jeremiah said, "they are not valiant for the truth . . ." God uses men to preach and stand for His truth. I believe that you will have to admit that the preachers and people who are valiant for the truth are a minority group today. When the church backslides, she melts into the environment and adjusts her theological views so that they do not offend. Jeremiah says, "for they proceed from evil to evil . . ." The idea here is that sin is ever on the increase. Instead of truth prevailing in the land, it is evil that prevails. Then Jeremiah states,

THE NEED TO KNOW GOD

He says, "they know not me, saith the LORD." First, there is the knowing of the Lord that speaks of salvation. You could be a member of the Hebrew race and the nation of Israel and not know the Lord. Paul says in Romans 2:28-29, "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."

Second, there is the knowing of the Lord that speaks of knowing His ways through His Word. I believe that Jeremiah is speaking of both these in this statement. We need to know Him personally in salvation, and we need to know Him personally in Lordship which means we follow Him in leadership.

Jeremiah sees four great needs. It is the need for tears, for a retreat at times, repentance, and finally the need to know him in salvation. May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ,

Bro. Earl White