The prophet Jeremiah like Isaiah is regarded as one of the greatest prophets of his time for good reason. He prophesied to the people of Judah, the southern kingdom through the reigns of Josiah the reformer and godly king, and Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, Judah’s last kings before the destruction of Jerusalem and the people’s exile to Babylonia. Because of his passion and emotional expressions, Jeremiah is famously known as “the weeping prophet”. Jeremiah is indeed fraught with emotions through his writings because he prophesied at a time of Judah’s history that was truly chaotic and fraught with danger. At that time the people of Judah were completely taken up by the wanton social and moral decay and there was little interest in anything to do with God. The people led by their leaders were totally rebellious against God’s authority. At the same time international events were hinting at the potential trouble that would in time overcome Judah. The Babylonians were challenging Egypt for dominance in most of what we know now as the Middle East. Does this sound familiar? Here is a part of the world it seems that has been the epicentre of major historic military conflicts between great powers be they the Assyrians, the Egyptians , the Chaldeans , Babylonians, Persians and later the Romans.
By the latter stages of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry, Babylon, the great power of the day, had overwhelmed Judah and many of its citizens had been taken into exile. It is said that Jeremiah was taken to Egypt after Jerusalem’s capture and he later died there.
Jeremiah’s prophecy was particularly difficult because he not only prophesied of Judah’s impending destruction because of their rebellion against God, but he also urged his people to submit to the Babylonians to make things easier for them.This made Jeremiah a traitor in the eyes of his own people and at one point he was nearly killed.
As we read in our text for today, Jeremiah is deeply saddened about the destruction of Judah, his homeland, and expresses his pain over the fact that help has not come for his people. In this time of abject sadness the prophet asks why there is no healing of his people. Has the balm in Gilead run out? The pain and suffering of his people is almost too much to bear even as he acknowledges that they are the ones who caused this on themselves by their rejection of God. We must note that more than anything else, Jeremiah’s pain is reflective of God’s sorrow as well.
We can all relate to Jeremiah’s sense of pain and frustration at one time or another in our lives. We may not know the experience of military conflict or the threat of an invading army on our country’s doorstep but we know people who know what that experience is like. We may not know the experience of people forced into exile or even internally displaced because of military conflict in their homeland. We do have friends from Ukraine among us who can tell us of the pain of being separated from family and friends and simply missing the place you call home. Everyone who has been displaced from their homeland because of war or some local conflicts can speak to Jeremiah’s experience of deep pain and sorrow. But there are other ways in which we feel sorrow and pain. We feel sorrow and deep pain through continuing ill health when there seems to be no relief at all. We feel sorrow and hurt for family members and friends who suffer personal and family calamities. We feel sorrow for persons we know who have been affected by crime and violence and we could go on and on. As we reflect on all these things today let us think about a few things as we hear what the Lord is saying to us today.
First, life is full of all kinds of unimaginable and undesired experiences.
These are the things that we dearly wished were never a part of our lived reality. These include the death of family or friends especially as a result of tragic and unexpected circumstances, the catastrophic destruction of property and livelihood and loss of life because of some natural event like a tornado or earthquake or flood, the horrific loss of life due to wars and other physical conflict and the toll of illnesses on the body such as cancer and diabetes and heart conditions among other things which can leave persons we love permanently debilitated. Many of the worst things we experience in life are preventable but a great deal are not preventable. How do we cope when life throws us a curve? In the text, Jeremiah points to the nation’s rebellion against God as the source for their downfall. They were feeling the consequences of their folly. Sometimes we do suffer the consequences of our own actions and this can be quite difficult to acknowledge, until it’s almost too late. But there are also times when we may not have done anything that directly caused disaster or suffering to come to us. Sometimes we may be the victims or the collateral damage from somebody else’s mistake or unwise choices, especially someone we might be very close to such as a family member or a friend. Sometimes one might simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time when calamity strikes. Whatever the reason or cause of the distress or calamity in our situation, we know that this is a part of life. I know that it sounds harsh and insensitive when I express it in those words but unfortunately this is our human reality. We cannot help but deal with the reality that life will meet us with undesirable and unexpected sorrow and we have little choice but to learn to cope with these irrespective of how difficult and painfully life-changing this can be.
Secondly, our grief is compounded with anger and frustration when we do not find quick relief as we struggle to bear our pain.
This is the period that is most challenging for nearly every human being and it can be a ‘make or break’ period for us all especially for Christians. As we read the text we become witnesses to Jeremiah’s ‘make or break’ moment. His grief at what has befallen his people, even though it can be argued that they deserve it, is beyond description and we hear it and feel it in the words, “Oh that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.” (See Jeremiah 9:1 NIV) This is the sorrow of a man who is in utter despair. But where is the relief to come from? He asks, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” Balm sometimes called Balsam was believed to be a resin found in some trees in the ancient world near to Palestine. No one is exactly sure what tree this was from specifically or whether it grew in Palestine at all. Jeremiah obviously knew about the healing properties of this resin and referenced it as a metaphor for the absence of any source of healing and restoration in his homeland. The real point here is that Judah was in a state of absolute hopelessness because there was no source of healing to be found. When we get to the bottom of the well of despair, we cannot find a reason to have hope. This is the time when you want help the most and yet you feel the most abandoned even by God.
Thirdly, we must never forget that in our suffering God is there with us.
There is a key verse in the text that we could easily overlook. When it says, “Since my people are crushed, I am crushed.” Jeremiah 8:21 NIV) It is accepted that these are the words of the prophet himself expressing his deepest feelings of despair. However, we must also remember that the prophet is also expressing God’s sorrow over the demise of his people. The people’s pain is also God’s pain. It must say something to us to know that God feels our pain as well. We must always believe that our loving God feels our pain and is with us in the midst of our sorrow and pain, whatever the cause of that pain and sorrow is. I always love the words of the Psalmist David when he says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me…” (See Psalm 23:4 NIV) and also that beautiful passage in Romans which tells us, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life…nor anything else will be able to separate us from the love of God.” (See Romans 8:38-39 NIV)
Throughout human history it is the assurance of God’s presence that gives us the assurance that we will overcome the worst of situations. Jeremiah asks, “Is there no physician in Gilead?” The question is, who is your physician in your time of pain and suffering? Who is your healer in times of calamity? It is natural and human that we desire complete physical healing and restoration when we are sick and we all would wish that there was no experience of tragedy and catastrophe to bear in our families and our communities. These things sadly, we must experience while we live this life, but the real victory is in knowing that God is with us through it all bearing our grief and pain, and God is with us even when our bodies fail and we depart this earth. That is the balm that the Christian must apply in times of sorrow and grief. The comfort we must take through life’s suffering and pain is knowing that we do not bear it alone. God is with us and will bring us through this suffering whether by restoring us physically or transporting us through to eternity.
So in closing, I want to ask that as Christians we remain faithful especially when things don’t go the way we would like. Please know that God is with you through all of the most difficult and painful experiences that we will have to bear and our great physician is ready to grant healing whether in this physical world which all of us would like or in eternity if according to His will that is the best for us. We must keep our faith alive and trust that God neither leaves us nor forsakes us whatever the situation or experience of pain or joy that we go through in this life as we prepare to meet him again in eternity. Amen.