Jeremiah 14:17-22 - Let my eyes overflow with tears

14:17,18

In some ways these verses seem rather strange. God has just been declaring the utter devastation that is about to engulf the land, the judgement upon Judah. Yet now God tells Jeremiah to declare to the people that His “eyes overflow with tears” at the extent of the devastation. One might be tempted to ask “if it upsets you so much why not stop it?” The reason is that the sin is so great, and the consequences of the sin are so great. People sometimes ask “how can a God of love send people to hell?” This is the wrong question, or we ask it looking at things from the wrong end. God does love all of mankind, and if the God who loves us deems it necessary to send us to hell our sin must be truly awful. God does not delight in the destruction of anyone, but, without Christ, it is the only thing that can be done.

14:19-22

Jeremiah then calls out to God, “have you rejected Judah completely?” “Have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed?” Then in verse 20 Jeremiah speaks on behalf of the nation, acknowledging their sins. Of course, at this point the people of Jerusalem were doing no such thing, just as when Jesus was on the cross humanity was not acknowledging its own sin. Then Jeremiah calls on God not despise them, for the sake of His name. In a similar fashion Moses had called on God not to destroy Israel, for the sake of His name. Then even in the darkest hour Jeremiah puts his hope in God. Unlike Israel he knows that God is the only one who can help them. Look at the phrase “do the skies themselves send down showers?” The atheist's answer to this question is yes! But that is not the truth. It is God who sends down the rain. This does not mean the physical laws are not real, they are, but it is God who determines everything.