Jeremiah, Don't Pray!
By Cornelis Pronk
Jeremiah is often referred to as the weeping prophet, and with good reason. Few servants of God have wept as he had over the people to whom he ministered. Possessing a sensitive and tender soul, he could not remain indifferent to the plight of sinners who seemed bent on destroying themselves. God had sent him to warn them that if they did not repent, judgment would come upon them. But they would not listen, and this grieved Jeremiah.Jeremiah 14:7-12 But Jeremiah did more for his people than just weep. He also prayed for them. Like Moses and Samuel before him, he loved his people too much to let them rush on to their destruction without pleading with the Lord for them. We read his great intercessory prayer in Chapter 14 verses 7-9:
O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.This prayer is occasioned by a terrible drought that has begun to destroy both human and animal life. Worse yet, an imminent invasion by Babylon is also threatening. All this is God's judgment on Judah for her long, continued sin. The people are
aware of their plight. They proclaim a day of fasting and humiliation, and flock to the temple with burnt-offerings and sin-offerings to the Lord. They plead with God for relief. As the smoke of their sacrifices goes up to heaven, they wait anxiously for the Lord's answer, scanning the sky for the slightest sign of cloud formation.But the prophet knows better than his countrymen that all this does not mean much if the people have no communion with God and if the Lord does not meet with them in grace.
I. Is God a Stranger in Our Land?
Jeremiah prays that those blessed days when His people had communion with God may return. He does that by asking sadly: Why should You be as a wayfaring man that turns aside to tarry for a night? The prophet is alluding to those merchants who, on their way from Damascus to Egypt, would travel through Judah and stay there for the night. They don't care at all what happens to the people of Judah.The masses who throng the temple are not quite so sensitive, though. They do not miss the communion with God because they have never experienced it. Now that the drought has struck and their very lives are in danger, many begin to pray. But their prayer was more for the end of the drought than for the return of the Lord and His blessed presence. They think that as long as they bring the proper sacrifices to the temple, everything is all right.
Jeremiah is concerned with the presence of God. Not the gift but the Giver, not the benefit but the Benefactor, is his concern. The Lord Himself is what Jeremiah and the few other believers in Judah long for.
The same today. That is what we should be longing for also. For these words of Jeremiahthat God is like a traveler and a stranger in the landalso describe the situation in our land and in our churches. There was a time when the Spirit of God worked with great power in the church, and the effects could be seen even in society. The whole nation came under the influence of the Gospel, and God's holy law was respected.
Without idealizing the past, we are nevertheless compelled to ask ourselves: Where are these manifestations of the presence of God among us? I know that some will point to the many decisions for Christ that continue to be made and the rapid growth of some congregations. But are all these people really being added by the Lord to the body of believers or are they mostly the result of man's work?
Going by the statistics that tell of many defections from the church, one fears the latter. But even those who stay, do they enhance the spiritual character of the church? Do we see, in our time, an increase in seriousness and true spirituality? A growing in faith and holiness? Are Christians a salt and a light in the world?
I can't see it. Of course, there are many exceptions. But on the whole, I see a Christianity that is superficial, a church that is becoming increasingly worldly. Therefore, there is reason to ask with Jeremiah: Lord why art Thou as a stranger in our land?
II. Why God Sometimes Refuses to Hear Prayer.
We have heard Jeremiah's intercessory prayer. Surely such a sincere prayer will meet with divine approval and will be answered. Yet in verses 11 and 12 we read these strange words:Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.In fact, in the first verse of Chapter 15 God makes this final statement:Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.Why does God refuse to listen to the prophet's intercession? In the past, the Lord heard the prayer of Moses in the wilderness when Israel had sinned so terribly that God had threatened to destroy them all. Moses pleaded with God to spare His people, and his petition was granted.Is God changeable after all? Was Israel under Moses and later under Samuel better than the people of Jeremiah's time? In a sense, we cannot answer these questions for sure as God's thoughts are higher than ours. Yet, Scripture also gives us certain clues.
You see, there is progress, not mere repetition, in the way God deals with man. When Moses was their leader, Israel was like a child. The people were ignorant. When they sinned, therefore, the Lord was willing to take their spiritual immaturity into consideration. The same is true of Israel under Samuel.
But by Jeremiah's time, they are no longer children. Judah has a long history behind her. She has witnessed
how God dealt with His people in the past. She has been instructed in the ways of the Lord. But though she knows the way, she refuses to walk in it. In Jeremiah 6:16, the Lord commands Judah:Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.Enough is enough. Now, it becomes a little bit clearer why the Lord is not about to forgive Judah's sin this time and why. What blocks the way to God's heart is not sin itself, but the clinging to sin. Judah's rebellion has reached the point where the Lord says: This is it, they have gone too far.Could it not be that the Lord feels the same about us? Are we not a people hardened in sin? What about the Sodom-and-Gomorrah-like immorality that is taking place everywhere, even in government circles? Sure, some lip service is still being paid to God, but where is the fear of God?
I am sure everyday thousands of prayers go up to heaven from true Christians on behalf of our nation and people. But such prayers may go unanswered. Quite possibly, the time has come when God no longer hears the prayers that are presented for the nation. Perhaps He is saying to them as He said to Jeremiah: Pray not for this people for their good.
I cannot be sure of this, of course. I am not a prophet in the Old Testament sense so that God gives me private information about His plans. But we may and must learn from God's dealings in the past. And we can at least discern the definite parallel between the situation in Judah then and what we are seeing in our nation today. We, too, are sinning against knowledge.
Guilty as charged. The Christian West cannot plead ignorance. God has blessed us with the light of His gospel. But we are deliberately suppressing that light, because we prefer the darkness of sin. We are rejecting the good commandments of God because we love to indulge in unbridled lust.
Therefore, I repeat, it is quite possible that the Lord is saying to us: Though Moses, Samuel and Jeremiah or any other servants of God stood before Me, I would not hear. The nation's doom is sealed! I will pour out My judgments upon this sinful people!
This is our message to this nation of which we are a part and for whose sins we also bear responsibility. O, that these solemn words from Jeremiah 14 and 15 would humble us in the dust before God. Even if our nation as a whole cannot be saved, it
is still possible that individual sinners of this nation may find forgiveness with the Lord. Today is still the day of salvation.Never presume upon the grace and mercy of God, though. Never think that God is so loving that no matter what you do or how long you continue in sin, you can always count on His forgiveness. This is delusion of the worst kind. There will come a time when the Lord will give man over to a reprobate mind.
No, it is not for me to say if that moment has arrived or when will it arrive in your case. But I must say this, if you do not turn to the Lord today with confession of sin and the prayer for mercy, it may be too late tomorrow.
On the other hand, if you sincerely seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, there is hope. Yes, there is every reason to believe that He will have mercy upon you and abundantly pardon your sins.
The good news. Moses could not really help his people. Nor could Samuel and Jeremiah. Why not? Because they were sinners themselves. All they could do was pray. They were not able to blot out Israel's sins. But what all these eminent saints of the Old Testament could not do, the Lord Jesus Christ could do, and has done!
His intercession has real value, because it is based on the sacrifice of Himself. He has not only prayed for His people, but suffered for them as well. For that reason, He alone is able to ward off the blows of God's judgment, because these blows have fallen on Him.
That does not necessarily mean that temporal judgments will not come. But it does mean that all who trust in Christ shall escape the final, everlasting judgment. O, that we might all be found in Him, safe under the shelter of His wings! o
Rev. Cornelis Pronk is radio pastor of the Banner of Truth Radio Broadcast, a ministry of the Free Reformed Church of North America, 950 Ball Ave. N. E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503.
Back To Top