Is there a time when God does not forgive? (Jer 14:1-15:9)

We like to think of God as infinitely forgiving, ‘the God of second chances’ and given that Jesus told his disciples to forgive seventy times seven (Matt 18:21-22), it is hard to imagine that God would have a limit beyond which He refused to forgive. Today’s reading is quite long but the dialogue that ensues in it between God, the people, and the prophet addresses this question, and we can only get an answer if we follow the flow of the argument. It seems that despite the people’s sincere words of repentance, the Lord is adamant that He will not forgive anymore, and this is surely troubling in the light of what we know of God. Commentators fall into two camps. Some argue that the people’s repentance is lacking, hence God’s response, others maintain that the repentance is genuine, but things have reached such a bad state that the consequences of Judah’s sins are already in motion and can no longer be reversed.

Confession and complaint

Our passage starts with the description of a drought, dried up cisterns, cracked ground and lack of water and vegetation that lead to the suffering of people and animals (Jer 14:1-6). As so often, times of need and difficulty create a greater spiritual openness. Judah answers with an admission of sins (Jer 14:7), yet I find a discordant note in what follows. On the one hand, the people’s prayer expresses confidence in God as ‘the Hope of Israel’ and ‘Saviour’, yet they are despondent that He doesn’t help them and compare Him to a wandering traveller who may only stop for a night and to a warrior who cannot save (Jer 14:8-9). In other words, they have doubts that God cares enough to deliver them or that He has the power to do so. Of course, the psalms often lament the absence of God, and such words can express the natural despair we might feel when the Lord seems distant and our difficulties continue. How much weight should we give to their complaint?

God’s response and the people’s second confession

God’s answer seems to ignore their admissions of guilt. Ironically, it is the people who ‘have loved to wander’ (Jer 14:10) – into idolatry – even though they accused God of wandering off and absenting Himself from them. The Lord is immovable here; neither intercession nor the traditional religious practices that expressed devotion (fasting, sacrifices) would change His mind (Jer 14:11-12). Jeremiah pleads with God on their behalf arguing that the false prophets lulled them into a sense of security (Jer 14:13) and the people later complain that God promised peace but no good came (Jer 14:19). But if they truly recognised their sin as they made confession (Jer 14:20), how could they maintain that God earlier promised them peace?

The mark of true repentance

In conclusion, God’s decision to draw the line somewhere at the depth of their depravity may be part of the reason why judgment is not removed, but I am convinced that primarily the people’s attitude is wrong. God always acknowledges genuine repentance, even if it does not remove necessary discipline/judgment. Josiah’s repentance, for instance, is recognised, but can only delay judgment, not avert it (2 Kings 22:16-20). Likewise, David’s repentance after his adultery leads to forgiveness, though, once again, it does not remove aspects of judgment (2 Sam 12:13-14), nor the consequences of his bad example in the household (2 Sam 12:10-12). And this is the point. The Ninevites understood well and acknowledged that God may relent from punishment, but it should not be assumed (Jonah 3:9), a point that is echoed through the prophets (e.g. Joel 2:14; Amos 5:15; Zeph 2:3). The description of future judgment in the concluding section of our reading spells out God’s verdict: the people have forsaken Him and have not repented (Jer 15:6-7). Grim as this passage is, it teaches us the importance of true repentance that seeks God for His own sake, not so that we might avoid the consequences or God’s judgment. Such an attitude involves a level of humility that we have no rights or claims on God to do anything for us. Yet the paradox is that those who come like this are met with the Lord’s immense love and His willingness to restore.

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