Title Jeremiah's Prayer (Jeremiah 10:17-25)
Contents Judea was on the verge of judgment because of their sins. At this time, the prophet Jeremiah was praying that God would judge Judah, but judge him with love and judge him generously.
1. Jeremiah, in the name of God, warns of the coming destruction toward Judea and Jerusalem. In verses 17-18, “You who sit in the midst of the siege, take your packages from the land, thus saith the LORD, Behold, I dwell in this land. Those who do, this time I will throw them away, and I will torment them and make them understand.” "You who sit in the midst of the siege" refers to the siege of the Jewish people by the Babylonian army. He said, “I will be thrown away,” which refers to God's taking the Jews into captivity in Babylon. “I will trouble you so that you may understand” means that the Jews, who have sinned and yet continue to worship idols without realizing it, will be thrown into tribulation so that they will be afflicted so that they will realize their sins and repent and stand upright. If the saints move toward selfishness and are rebuked, but still follow their greed, God throws them into tribulation and suffering in order to repent.
2. The people mourned that the country would be devastated. Verse 19 says, "It is grievous, my wounds have been grieved, but I say, yea, this is my suffering, and I must endure." The prophet Yefpmiah was mourning as he looked at the calamity that would come upon the Jewish people. "All cords are broken" means that all hopes are broken. Jeremiah's lament was not for himself, but for the prophet who mourned over the calamity and desolation of his country. Jeremiah shed tears for the people who would not listen even if they persuade them to weep for them. But when the people are regarded as a group and borrowed from an individual mode of expression, Jeremiah's sorrow is considered the sorrow of the Jewish people as a whole. The prophet puts in their mouths what they should be justified in. Whether they wanted to say it or not, they had a reason to say it.
(1) They lament sadly that the suffering is so severe that it is very difficult to bear.
(2) They mourned that they had no other cure than to endure.
(3) We are grieving that the country has been completely destroyed and completely devastated. Verse 20 says, “My tent is broken down, all my cords are cut off, are my children not leaving me? If you commit a sin, you will receive the wrath of God, and you will be destroyed and destroyed. If the saints do not repent and do not stand up in faith, disaster strikes, all houses are torn down, all hope is cut off, children leave, and there is no one to build the tent again. Isaiah 51:18 says, "O Jerusalem, out of all the sons you have borne, there is none to lead you."
(4) The rulers stood by when they saw the destroyed state, but Jeremiah was sad to see it. Verse 21 says, “The shepherds are foolish and do not seek the Lord, and they do not prosper, and all their flocks are scattered.” The shepherds say that because the Jewish leaders, that is, the prophets and priests, were foolish and turned away from the Word of God without seeking God, God sends a plague to scatter all their flocks. It was foretold that the northern kingdom of Babylon would attack with a terrifying force and devastate Judea.
(5) Jeremiah was grieved because he was very afraid when he heard the revelation of the enemy's invasion. Verse 22 says, “Listen, why will the rich roaring from the north make the cities of Judea desolate and a dwelling place of strife.” Now the rumors of a great uproar in the north have turned out to be true. Don't they all wish for a place where the Chaldean army's den of greed and robbers became a den of Shirang?
3. Jeremiah turned from the unresponsive people toward the law of God and prayed and appealed to God
(1) He confessed that the destruction of Judea was God's providence. Verse 23 says, “I know, O LORD, that the way of a man is not in him; it is not in him who walks to direct his steps.” The way of life is in God. Life cannot walk its own path. Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man plans his way in his heart, but the Lord directs his steps.” No matter how well a person has a plan, not everything goes as planned. Only if God allows it, and God has to allow it. What we have walked so far has not been according to human plan. God led us to this point. Therefore, if you entrust your future path to God and obey only as God leads you, God will guide you on the best path and lead you to the most blessed place.
(3) Jeremiah prays for God's wrath to come upon the enemies who oppress Judea. Verse 25 says, “Cast out your wrath on the nations that do not know you, and on the peoples who do not pray in your name, for they have devoured and devoured Jacob, and have ruined his dwelling place.” Jacob refers to the people of Israel, God's chosen people. This prayer is a prayer to defeat the enemy who is trying to destroy the church of God. The nations who do not know you and the peoples who do not pray in your name are those who are trying to destroy the saints by devouring them, so they become enemies of the Lord. God's wrath will surely come upon them. Jeremiah's prayer
(1) It is a prayer of appeal for God's justice. He said, "O LORD, we are a rebellious people. But aren't there even more rebellious peoples? But why are we the only ones punished? We are your children. Therefore, our Heavenly Father's wrath is not on us, but on Him," he said. It must be heard." He prayed.
(2) It is a foreshadowing of God's judgment on the enemies who oppose the church and kingdom of God. Those who do not know God do not want to know God. They have not a hair on their heads of faith and are roots that do not pray. They are the persecutors of God's people, those who destroy God's temple and ruin God's inheritance. God uses Gentiles as instruments of discipline, but he will make them the object of his anger because of what they do to his people in malice and wrath.