4th.: The Prophet Jeremiah is Unnerved
The Lord continued to tell Jeremiah to tell Israel to turn back to God.
If they did not turn - God would pour his anger upon them (Jer. 4:1-9).
This fierceness unnerved Jeremiah,
“Then said I, ‘Ah, Lord God! Surely thou has greatly deceived this people,
and Jerusalem saying, ‘Ye shall have peace.’ Whereas the sword reaches unto the soul.” (Jer. 4:10).
Jeremiah could have been unnerved by:
1. False prophets preaching, “Peace, peace, when no peace” (Jer. 6:14),
2. Or missing the justice of the connection between Israel’s refusal to repent and God’s coming wrath,
(e.g. “… take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my fury came forth like fire.” (Jer. 4:4).
3. Or Simply seeing visions of destruction in itself can be unnerving.
“My bowels, my bowels, I am pained at my very heart. My heart makes a noise,
because thou has heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.” (Jer. 4:19).
God simply ignored Jeremiah’s comments.
God loves us. But God is also just.
We and Jeremiah must come to terms with this combination of God’s character.
“Righteous art thou, O Lord.” (Ps. 119:137a)