the weeping prophet

Jeremiah 13
15 Hear and give ear; be not proud,
for the LORD has spoken.
16 Give glory to the LORD your God
before he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the twilight mountains,
and while you look for light
he turns it into gloom
and makes it deep darkness.
17 But if you will not listen,
my soul will weep in secret for your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,
because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

If you look up the word "jeremiad" you will find reference to lament. A new word was formed because of Jeremiah and his thankless, seemingly joyless task of bringing warnings of woe on a proud people. While we have light, we are to turn to the God who has spoken. If we don't turn, we hear only the bad news, "Well I guess you prefer darkness."

Sometimes in dealing with the pride of people, the preacher/prophet/parent feels a hardness set in. "Well, fine, be that way. Don't come crying to me when you get what's comin' to ya." Jeremiah was different. He wept over them. He didn't weep in their presence to manipulate their repentance. He wept in secret over the pride that brought them into captivity, into darkness, into stumbling. To bleed and weep like Jeremiah with the people, kept him from falling into an adversarial relationship against his people. He was one of the people, of the nation. By grace he could see it, both their doom and their salvation, standing in the light of God's revelation.

So as wounded healers/weeping prophets, we stand in the light of God's revelation. We don't sit in the seat of mockers, but we don't sit in God's seat either. We announce the opening of repentance and the onslaught of painful restoration. The remnant will be rescued, the prophet will see the fruit of his announcement, and God will see justice and mercy done!

Be not proud, prophet. Be not proud, people. Hear and turn! Turn to God. Turn to the people. Weep, announce, intercede. Watch the Lord do his thing with his people. Including you and me.