Week 5: Joining with the Prophets
Last week we began to practice a grief born from exile. As we turned to the scriptures and prayer, we asked God to give us a glimpse of what it is like to feel hidden from God and the signs of God's covenants. Certainly, as Jerusalem was sieged and as the people became slaves, every Jewish household became well acquainted with the anguish of feeling separated from the promises of God.
This category of grief is a common sorrow for all those who walk through the dark days of exile. This mourning was not experienced by a few. Rather, this grief was tangible for the entire population. All of Jerusalem and Judah lamented in their own way as the siege ramps encompassed the walls of the city and as the tribes were placed in fetters.
Partnering with Jeremiah
According to the scriptures there is an additional form of grief that is just as palpable as the first. In each exile event, this grief is not as wide spread and is hidden from some. If the first grief is a theological grief rooted in the reality of feeling hidden from God, the second grief is the Godly grief of the prophet.
While all of Jerusalem wept, Jeremiah certainly tasted his tears as well.
Prophetic grief is found in the heart of God's people where God's faithfulness and human unfaithfulness collide like freight trains. The essence of Jeremiah's words project these freight trains with power, force, acceleration, and mass.
Therefore, when reading the book of Jeremiah, it is natural to feel the prophet's anger, frustration, grief, suffering, and pain. It can even be agonizing to appropriately wade through the chapters of Jeremiah's sorrow--internalizing the prophetic moan.
All the more, we know that the internal suffering of Jeremiah lasted decades. Surely Jeremiah had periods without restlessness. But still, his ministry of weeping and proclamation was prolonged. How heart wrenching! Who can endure such a ministry?
Looking back, I can only imagine Jeremiah and Baruch's tears smudging and blotting out the Hebrew letters which were sprawling on the scrolls below them. Like a water-color under a sprinkler, the ink would have bled and the letters would have morphed. A visual and Godly grief worthy of consideration.
For the Spirit-lead reader Jeremiah's years can be transduce in one sitting. Yet even being experienced during a short period of time, the book of Jeremiah is not for the faint of heart, the casual reader, or for simple cognitive study.
Jeremiah is the weeping prophet who invites us to join him. And here is the Godly surprise that we find in our partnership with Jeremiah: the prophetic heart and life within us can weep and minister for decades in our day and time.
A Prophetic Grief
The exiles wept because they were becoming slaves in a foreign land and because they lost the experience of God's covenant. Like his people, Jeremiah suffered this anguish. Jeremiah too cried for the fetters and the carnage, the chains and the war horses.
However, if Jeremiah 13 in part and in whole is to be believed, this prophet first wept over the pride of his people.
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Thus says the Lord: Just so I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.
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This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own will and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing.
Jeremiah goes on, speaking in his own voice:
Hear and give ear; do not be haughty,
for the Lord has spoken.
But if you will not listen,
my soul will weep in secret for your pride...
As we shed tears during our own exile and as we join with Jeremiah in his ministry, we begin to moan from deep within our souls. According to Paul, this is the Holy Spirit giving sound to that which we can assign no words.
Behind close doors, and in common worship, we groan and we grunt out our prayers. At these moments and in these locations, we again connect to God's heart. Here we no longer see the war horses nor enslavement as our main concern. No! These inflictions can both serve as symptoms and point us to the remedies of our broken relationship with God.
In exile, God and the prophets weep for the pride of God's people, their haughty hearts, their closed ears, and their chasing after other gods.
Prophets in our Midst
Leaders among us during the emerging exile will join with Jeremiah. Elders, deacons, and pastors will weep for their pride and the pride of their people. From the tender encounter with God as we gather bathed in our tears may we find motivation, joy, and satisfaction as we are being made more like Jesus, his servants, and humble leaders.
Wrestling with God
As you pray, ask God to show you the hidden areas of your life, where pride hinders grace, worship, and good-works.
After you offer yourself to the scrutiny of God, offer your church and MVP as well.
-Read 1 Peter 5:6 and James 4:10.
How do you need God's blessing in your life, heart, and relationships the most today?
Peace,
Matt Skolnik
Holy Habits
-I contend that Jeremiah's prophetic grief was the driving motivation for his ministry. Gather a group of servants in your town or city and do nothing but read the book of Jeremiah together, asking God to soften your hearts, just as Jeremiah's heart was tenderized (broken).
Have someone knowledgeable about the book of Jeremiah with you, so that the reading does not become a study. Allow the reading in God's Spirit to move you.
As your hearts begin and continue to break, consider how your group is being motivated to act in the world and church?
-After your group has sufficiently met God and begun to partnered with Jeremiah, make a poster that records the ways in which you found the joy of God's salvation in this encounter. You might also consider what joys you may find in your soon to be accomplished actions.
For this set of Holy Habits, you may enjoy a quite sound track in the background.
My selection for this activity may include:
"Satisfy Me"
by Sarah McMillian
"Hold Me Near," "I Need Love," "Love Me Today," and "I Love You"
by Karla Adolphe
"Build a Tower," and "Hush"
by Jacob and Lily
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