Jeremiah the Weeping Prophet - No. 14
Live No Lies - Jeremiah 9
Chapter 9 begins with two longings,
“Oh, that my head were a spring of waterand my eyes a fountain of tears!
I would weep day and night
for the slain of my people.
Oh, that I had in the desert
a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,
a crowd of unfaithful people.”
Verse 1 describes a longing for a head like a spring of water that provides enough tears to weep for the suffering of God’s people. Verse 2 describes a longing to get away from people in their unfaithfulness. Commentators on these passages differ on who they believe is talking, but since it is definitely God speaking in verse 3, I believe these are God’s sentiments.
Although God judges the people and allows them to suffer the consequences of disobedience at the hands of Babylon, He would never abandon His promised commitment to His people, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
However, the society in the southern Kingdom had become incredibly perverse and deserving of judgment. We see what they had become in a description that is all too familiar in our world,
“They make ready their tongue
like a bow, to shoot lies;
it is not by truth
that they triumph[b] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
they do not acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.
“Beware of your friends;
do not trust anyone in your clan.
For every one of them is a deceiver,
and every friend a slanderer.
Friend deceives friend,
and no one speaks the truth.
They have taught their tongues to lie;
they weary themselves with sinning.
You live in the midst of deception;
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.”
Christopher J.H. Wright summarizes this passage this way, “Basically, Judah’s society had become rotten to the core, filled with lies, deceit and untrustworthiness - that is, the diametric opposite of the character of God.” He then writes, “After generations of trusting false gods that have let them down, the whole culture has become a stinking swamp of slander, spin and smears.”
The excellent book, Live No Lies, by John Mark Comer makes an insightful point, “Jesus sees our primary war against the devil as a fight to believe truth over lies.” In our culture, from news media to politicians of every stripe to the internal whispers of the enemy we wrestle with, lies have become as common as milkweed pollen.
God gives Jeremiah the key to escaping a culture saturated with lies,
“This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.”Jeremiah 9:23-24
Do you want to escape a culture of lies? Seek to know and understand Him. Do you want the Lord God to delight in you? Seek to know and understand Him. God is the source of all truth and understanding, and He alone can give you the strength to stand for truth in a culture of lies.
As Christians, one of our primary tasks is to resist lies by clinging to Jesus and obeying His teaching. In John 8:31-32, we read, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
We are empowered to stand for truth when we hold firmly to the teaching of Jesus. Truth sets us free for joyfully thriving, even in a culture of lies. We must stand together and refuse the compulsion of our culture to get us to say things we know to be untrue. Then can we know the delight and joy of the Lord God Almighty!