The service of the prophets in the various spiritual conditions of Israel, unfolds the grace and forbearance of the living God. The periods at which God raised them up, and the consequent character of their service, make the history of each very interesting, but of all the times during which the prophets prophesied, none were more painful than those of Jeremiah.
It is not in the amount of good done that Jeremiah stands before us as pre-eminent; on the contrary, results of labor are nowhere found so small, perhaps, as from the labors of that prophet. The ministry of Moses had large results. He found them under the galling yoke of Pharaoh; he left them within sight of the promised land. Joshua left them in possession. The history of the varied deliverers before the days of Samuel gives us an account of victories obtained. Elijah's and Elisha's days were marked times of God's goodness to an unfaithful people, but if we ask what were the results of Jeremiah's prophecies, we see nothing but desolation and ruin, and, by-and-by, we lose Jeremiah himself in the great confusion. At the same time, we see incessant service and unwearied faithfulness, so long as there remained a part of the wreck to be faithful to.
Others who had gone before had foretold what the disobedient and rebellious ways of Israel would lead them to, but it was the lot of Jeremiah to be on the ship when it went to pieces. He warned and warned again of the rocks that were ahead, but Israel heeded not. Up to the last moment he was used of God to press home on their consciences their sad condition, but without avail, and even after the captivity, he remained to guide the wayward remnant of those left in the land, only to experience on their part the same obstinacy and determination to be ruined.
The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign. Now this was a period of blessing and revival. It was in the eighteenth year that the Passover was kept, of which it was said: "And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet." 2 Chron. 35:18. Jeremiah would have his share in that joy. I have often thought how much depends on the start of a Christian; how easily the heart sympathizes with what is around, whether harmful or healthful. To have the lot in early life cast among the fresh provisions of God's house, and amid the energies of His own Spirit, will give advantages to such a soul which are not the common lot of the Church of God. Such were Jeremiah's first days, the days of Josiah who was cradled in blessing such as had not been tasted in Israel since the days of Samuel. He lamented the death of Josiah. These joys, so fresh, were of short duration. But there is an intimate connection between the joys of communion and faithful warfare. There will be little of the one without the other. Jeremiah had drunk of the sweet drafts of blessing which had been so richly provided, and he was therefore able to feel the bitterness of the cup which Israel had to drink.
The last chapter of 2 Chronicles shows how prominent as a prophet he was. His words were despised, and the result was the casting off for a season of God's people. One of the services of Jeremiah during this period was to break the fall of Israel. Careful reading will show how tenderly the prophet applied himself to the needs of the people, and it is wonderful to see the compassion of God as exhibited by him. Jonah regretted that God's judgment did not fall upon Nineveh, but the solicitudes of Jeremiah were those of the tender parent who would fain prevent the calamity befalling a disobedient child, but, failing to prevent it, still maintains the parent's heart and tears to soften the rebellious woes of that child. How often do we, in our intercourse with our brethren, act otherwise. If I see willfulness and disobedience, I warn; I tell what the consequences may be; I press home those warnings with diligence; all are unheeded, the calamity comes, perhaps even worse than I foretold. How ready the heart is then to triumph in its own faithfulness, and the poor victim of his own rashness is left to himself, while in a kind of triumph, I tell him, "You deserved it." The heart of Jeremiah could say: "But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord's flock is carried away captive." Jer. 13:17. Such hearts and such ministry are needed now.
It is in the book of this prophet that we have the history of that part of Israel which was not removed out of the land. Jeremiah's service did not close even when the city was taken and the wall broken down. The heart that, like Jeremiah's, is true to God and His people, will always have something to do. The special place he held was to seek to warn the people and to draw them into repentance. He was unheeded, and the judgments of God reached home. No sooner had the captives been borne away, than quite another field of duty arose before him, and one would have supposed that what had just happened would have made him a welcome guest in the house of the poor deserted Israelites. In chapter 42 we see this new labor that Jeremiah found. The destroying flood had swept away all he had formerly been among- the kings, the priests, the princes, the temple, the vessels-and the glory of Israel had departed. How often have we seen that, when services apparently have been disowned, the servant retires. When we have been laboring for an object o and suddenly find all dashed from our hands, like a goodly vessel, before the world and to ourselves, the heart tends to faint and grow weary. There was never a more complete failure than that which was before the eye of the prophet. Yet his heart alone remained whole amidst it all; he was ready for fresh service. The remnant assembles before him; their confession seems honest; their hearts seem true. "Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) that the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do." Chap. 42:2, 3.
Jeremiah had had experience with the human heart. Ready to act as before he says, "Whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you." After ten days the answer was given to the same company (Chap. 42:9-22). The leaning of the hearts of the people was toward Egypt. There is something in Egypt, with all its bondage, to which the heart naturally clings. The remnant, wearied with the struggles they had passed through, sought for rest to the flesh. "Would God we had died in Egypt!" every now and then escapes from the hearts of Israel. There is something in Egypt to attract all our hearts, something that flesh values, and no wonder when we can say, "No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread." v. 14.
Their disappointed hearts were in danger of turning back. When the people came to Jeremiah, their words were, "That the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do." God had provision for this time of need. There never was a time when the Lord would not bless them that trust in Him; there never was a place, however desolate or forlorn, where God could not meet His afflicted ones. His word was, "IF ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down; and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent Me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon.... And I will show mercies unto you, that He may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land." vv. 10-12.
The prophet's words are despised, and notwithstanding the threats if they returned to Egypt, the remnant departs, once more to contend with the judgments of God.
Once more Jeremiah finds himself rejected. Unable to keep them by promises of blessing, or to deter them from going into Egypt by threats of judgment, the power of unbelief has set in so strongly that in spite of the warnings, Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, swept the land, and Jeremiah himself along with the rest into the land of Egypt. But even here we find him with a word from God. The people, once back in Egypt, were soon burning incense unto other gods. When once we get into a current, it will carry us far beyond our intentions. This remnant hoped to reach Egypt that they might no more see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or suffer hunger, but they soon joined in with the idolatry of that people. How often have we seen the same in principle.
In all Israel's history we shall not find a more hardened state than that into which the remnant sunk. See their reply to Jeremiah in chapter 44:15-19. Here we appear to lose the prophet, and might he not say, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught."
I think we may lose blessing if we do not follow on in the track of God's grace to His people, and if we do, we must keep side by side with Jeremiah. Others had their service away in Babylon. God remembered His own there, but in following with this prophet, we learn the inexhaustible grace there is in God, where there is a heart to trust Him. At the same time we see the evils of the human heart becoming greater and greater as that goodness is manifested.
What varied scenes this man of God passed through from the time when he partook of the passover with joy in the days of Josiah until he saw the utter desolation which he so pathetically describes in his Lamentations. Would there be more hearts like his! "Mine eye runneth down with water... for the destruction of the daughter of my people." Lam. 1:16; 2:11.
As we have previously observed, those who beforehand had served their generation by the will of God saw around them the fruits of their labors. In none of them, however, do we see the same measure of tenderness of heart. God had reserved Jeremiah for his day, and had given him the heart for his work-a heart sorely tried, but one that could weep for Israel's woes. This prophet was the expression of God's heart toward Israel too. "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?" (Hos. 11:8) was Jehovah's language, and His prophet was there as the proof of God's grace. On looking back on the history of the Church of God, we see a constant raising up of one after another to step in to meet the Church's needs. The Spirit of God acts according to His knowledge of present needs. In the latter days of Christendom, I do not doubt but that however lavish the hand of God may be in giving hearts like that of Jeremiah to meet the needs of His saints, the apostasy will be so dark that labor, even of the most devoted character, will scarcely leave a trace of itself. As we draw nearer to the end, on the one hand will be the arduousness of service, and on the other hand will be the futility of it to the human eye.