Jeremiah 14:1-22

Bad news is always hard to give but it is far better in God’s eyes for us to give bad news that is true than to give good news that is false.  The nation of Judah is experiencing extreme hardship in the form of a drought.  The easiest message to give in these conditions is that rain is on the way, but God has told Jeremiah that no such thing is going to happen.  It is always tempting to tell people what they want to hear instead of telling them what the Word of God says.  We must never fall into that temptation.  The warnings of the Gospel are an eternity separated from God in hell.  This is not an easy message to proclaim but a very necessary one for us to remember and proclaim to all.

JEREMIAH IS TOLD NOT TO PRAY ABOUT THE DROUGHT: The nation of Judah is experiencing a drought that has the entire nation falling to its knees.  The people and animals are without water, no crops will grow and misery is compounding by the day.  This is only a precursor to the captivity that is on the way which God has determined over His people.  Jeremiah’s natural instinct in this situation would be to cry out to the Lord in prayer for relief.  However, God instructs him not to bother because there will be no relief.  Judah’s sin has come to the point of no return and God is determined to judge them.  It is a frightening thought to see that God will arrive at this point with His people.  We must be very careful not to come to this point in our lives.


JEREMIAH PRAYS FERVENTLY ABOUT JUDAH’S SIN: The prophets of Judah want to please the people so they are making up lies about rain being on the way.  This is not the truth and God reveals this to Jeremiah.  God’s promise is to destroy these false prophets along with the rest of the people.  We do not have the authority to make up what we want to preach.  God calls us to proclaim His Word.  Jeremiah’s response to this revelation is to cry out the Lord in prayer about the sinfulness of His people and the greatness of God.  Even though He knows God will not go back on the decision to judge the people He asks God to keep His covenant with the people and show His glory by bringing the people to repentance of their sin.  This is a prayer we must constantly make on behalf of the nations.

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