Jeremiah is often referred to as ‘the weeping prophet’ and the book which bears his name gives us a record of his life and work from his calling as a young man [Jeremiah 1:6-7] until the fulfilment of Yahweh’s word to Israel. Charles Spurgeon saw him as one who “was called to exercise a ministry that involved him in perpetual sorrow.” Jeremiah was mocked, scorned, ignored, hated, imprisoned and even taken “from his cell and lowered by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard…There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it” [38:6]. Eventually, it took thirty men to haul him out!
Lamentations is a collection of five remarkable poems of lament. They were written after Yahweh’s word through Jeremiah had been fulfilled. The prophet shows no exultation that his prophecies have been validated, only a deep, searing grief, a gut-wrenching agony. Some of the scenes described in the poems are horrifying, and we feel the crushing heartbreak Jeremiah suffers from seeing his brethren undergoing such devastation. Chapter 2 is a record of Yahweh’s word to His people as they anguished under His judgement. It details the extent and awfulness of their sin, tracing the bounty of His mercy, but showing clearly why they are being punished. A compassionate Yahweh will always, eventually, punish what is not repented of. Sin carries its own burden.
“Any theology that offers pardon of sin without punishment,” writes Charles Spurgeon, “ignores a major part of [Yahweh’s] character.” The reality of salvation is not that the penalty of our sin has been moderated or abandoned, but that due justice was inflicted on our beloved Yahshua during those final, terrible hours of His life. We are freely pardoned not because the punishment is waived, but because it is paid! Our precious Saviour “has utterly wiped out the damning evidence of broken laws and commandments which always hung over our heads, and has completely annulled it by nailing it over his own head on the cross” [Colossians 2:14 J.B. Phillips]. The gift of salvation is glorious, and the beauty of our pardon is indescribable.
Image by RENE RAUSCHENBERGER from Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/sunset-cross-christianity-god-4060437/
You Are The BranchesClick to see the whole passage:
1 timothy 3:16 NIV - Beyond all question, the mystery from - Bible Gateway
Lives have been changed. People from all walks of life have been born again through the gospel. Our message does work.
Roger Thomas
The Congregation Of Yahweh
Head Office (UK)
27A Carlton Road
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
United Kingdom
NG3 2DG
T: 0115 837 8083
E:
W: www.congyah.co.uk
Registered Charity No. 245132
© Copyright 2024 The Congregation Of Yahweh
