God’s attempts at rescue and the anguish of judgment (Jer 6:16-30)

A university friend’s sister was suicidal and sometimes also slashed her wrists to ease her internal pain. When my friend tried to reason with her to get help from a professional counsellor, the sister refused. She was really just trying to manage the ache in her heart, she argued. For her, going to a counsellor meant acknowledging that she had a mental problem and coping in her own way while hiding the issue from others helped her to pretend that she was normal and that the matter was not of grave concern. My friend shared with me her anguish that she was unable to help her sister when it was very clear that the latter was in serious trouble. What can be done for people who refuse help, who deny that there is a problem at all? It is the kind of anguish God feels when He looks at human lives in deep trouble knowing they need healing and that He can help and yet having to see that help rejected.

Attempts at rescue and the response

This is Judah’s story in Jeremiah’s time. Through the rediscovery of the ‘book of the law’ (probably some form of Deuteronomy), God called His people back in Josiah’s time to an exclusive relationship with Him (see Introduction to Jeremiah; 2 Kings 22-23). Such a way of life was meant to provide flourishing, fulfilment (Deut 30:15-16), and true rest (Jer 6:16). Yet the people refused that path long-term and when disaster threatened and the alarm was sounded, they were unwilling to listen (Jer 6:17). We should not imagine, however, that they necessarily recognised what and whom they were refusing. They were clearly religious (note the costly frankincense and sweet cane imported from distant lands – Jer 6:20), but their attitude was based on what they thought was appropriate and mattered to God.

For instance, in the cultural world of their time, there was nothing wrong with worshipping several gods alongside each other, so despite what God’s Word said, it may not have felt wrong for them. Likewise, in their theology, the Lord was their God and support, so how could they listen to such dire warnings as Jeremiah’s prediction of disaster? Surely, it was blasphemy against the truth of God’s grace and goodness! In our modern context, we can be influenced by the dominant messages of our culture, too, so that it becomes difficult to see God’s perspective. For instance, in the area of sexual practices it is easy to adopt at least a lenient view because we no longer feel the weight of God’s disapproval. God loves us and wants us to be fulfilled, doesn’t He? Likewise, ways of spending our time or money may seem neutral ground because it chimes in with the lifestyle of those around us and does not feel wrong or seems to have adverse effects.

Coming judgment and God’s anguish

Nevertheless, sin has its in-built consequences so that even though it is God who brings disaster on Judah, it is also the fruit of the people’s schemes (Jer 6:19). Thus, the Babylonian conquest was the empire’s response to the rebellion of Judah’s kings against their vassal status (see 2 Kings 24:1-2, 20; 25:1). At the same time, God used the invading Babylonian army as a stumbling block (better: obstacle; Jer 6:21) to stop His people in their tracks. Although the language sounds final (they ‘will perish’ v.21), the story as described in the latter half of Jeremiah suggests that even to the last minute God was giving Judah opportunities to salvage something from the catastrophe (e.g. Jer 38:17-20).

Neither is God impervious to His people’s suffering even when it comes because of their sin and rebellion. Jeremiah’s response to the message about the enemy from the north (Jer 16:22-23) surely reflects not only his anguish but God’s (Jer 6:24-26). Yet, the people’s resistance to God leaves Him with no alternative. Jeremiah and his message functions as the fire of an assayer. As lead and silver are heated up for the lead to oxidise and separate from the precious metal, so the prophet applies the heat of judgment in his preaching, but to no avail. As we read of the tragic events of Jeremiah’s time we are reminded once again of God’s persistence in wanting to rescue as well as His deep concern for the suffering of even those who rebel against Him.

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