Proper 7: Old Testament, Jeremiah 20:7-13                     

Jeremiah 20:7-13

One of the great, and yet challenging things about reading the prophet Jeremiah is that sometimes it is hard to discern when God stops speaking and Jeremiah begins. And vice versa. But that speaks to a wonderful reality. Jeremiah knows God’s heart. Jeremiah has God’s heart, perhaps, as much as a human being might.

Our reading today takes place in the midst of Jeremiah “leveling” Jerusalem and Judah in “advance” by the words of impending judgment. Captivity awaits and it will be long, painful, and draining of hope. Except for one thing: God’s Word. In the midst of this dire warning comes an exhortation from Jeremiah (really from Jeremiah’s God) and this is what comes from the prophet’s lips:

“Sing to the LORD;

praise the LORD!

For he has delivered the life of the needy

from the hand of the evildoers.”

-Jeremiah 20:13

There it is. It forces the question, “In what or whom is your hope?” Our nation, the United States of America, is under the judgment of God. Anyone who doesn’t realize that in 2023 is either blind or asleep. Yes judgment has come upon this once great country just as surely, and for some of the same reasons as it did for Old Testament Israel. We are not a theocracy. But we have been given the gift of the Word of the LORD perhaps more than any nation in history. God be praised, there are many in our land who still love and honor it. But many, many more have spurned the gifts of God’s mercy and grace which it proclaims. In that case judgment is all that is left. 

Except that even under judgment there may still be hope. Singing and praising are not a waste of words or breath. Perhaps it will bring hope out of hiding. Perhaps.