Wednesday 24 February 2016

Psalm: Psalm 41

Background

The opening verse of today's passage is a heart-rending cry ofagony and is in stark contrast to the mood of the account ofJeremiah's call in chapter 1. It marks the start of one of the'confessions of Jeremiah' that are found in the first half of thebook bearing his name. These personal statements lead many to thinkthat more can be known about Jeremiah than any other prophet in theOld Testament.

The prophet's sense of rejection by the people and abandonmentby God is so intense that he questions the value of his existence(verse 10). Such a thought is very rarely expressed in the OldTestament because life is understood to be a gift of God; Job3 is probably the only comparable passage. Jeremiah wasconvinced that he suffered insult on God's account and he expectedGod to do something about his persecutors (verse 15). God's wordswere so important to the prophet that he talked about eating them(verse 16). The result of his dedication, both to God and thepeople, meant the struggle was deeper and more painful; he evenaccused God of being "like a deceitful brook" (verse 18). This isan evocative reference to those streams or rivers that flow atcertain times of the year but not at others; it is all the morepoignant because the prophet had proclaimed that God is "thefountain of living water" (Jeremiah 2:13) and the time when the travellermost needs refreshment is when the brook is dry!

God's response also takes us back to the call of Jeremiah in theopening chapter of the book (Jeremiah 1:8, 18-19): it is the promise ofGod's presence to give him strength, and to save and deliver himfrom the wicked and ruthless (verses 20-21).

To Ponder

• What do you make of Jeremiah's honesty before God and of God'sresponse?

• How honest are you able to be in your relationship with God? Doyou feel that you have to be polite in your prayers? Why, or whynot?

• What do you hear God saying to you when you offer God yourdeepest thoughts and feelings?