Post by Lee on Sept 5, 2014 0:37:42 GMT
Reproach means disgrace, shame or infamy. It comes from a root word which means the gathering of the crop, the autumn and winter season, or ripeness of age. Israel's reproach indicates that their iniquity had come to the full. They were now gathering of the fruit which their sin had sown. They were cold and unresponsive to the Word of God. Their winter season had set in. The force of the prophet's prayer to God and the depth of their reproach is seen when we compare the items recalled to the Father's notice (Lam. 5:2)— 'Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our house to aliens."
The promises of God in the past were real and literal in the eyes of the nation. But they had presumed upon them. They felt that they were unconditional. Yet, whether we look at the Abrahamic, Mosaic or Davidic covenants we observe that they were reciprocal. The land itself was the basis of the covenants:
"All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever" (Gen. 13:15).
"Ye shall dwell in your land safely, and I will give you peace in your land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid" (Lev. 26:5-6).
This was their heritage. It was that unto which they had been brought from the darkness of slavery in Egypt. It was described unto them in the richest terms:
"A land flowing with milk and honey" (Exo. 3:8).
This was a glorious heritage for which they did not have to labor, a country all prepared for them. They were guaranteed these conditions would continue while they placed their confidence in their Creator, and obeyed His voice. Jeremiah's prayerful lament is now a confession of national departure from God's way. Certainly it was not the condition which their Father desired, nor that which was to be their ultimate destiny by the nature of the promises.
The prophet Jeremiah had expressed the Creator's mind and intention with Israel. The very inheritance which God had granted them was intended to stir them up to a realization that He was their Father. Jer. 3:19 (Goodspeed trans.)— "I thought, how would I rank you among the sons, and give you a pleasant land, the goodliest heritage of all the nations!
And I thought, surely you will call me Father, and will not turn back from Me!"
But they were as an unfaithful woman. They rejected the blessings which were bestowed upon them. They refused to have God as their Father. But seeking the parental protection of their idols and those of the nations they learned to their dismay (Lam. 5:3)— "We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows."
This was the actual circumstance in many cases, we may be sure. Judah's stand against the will of God, refusal to submit to the yoke of Babylon, in drinking of the cup which had passed over unto them, would take the prime of their nation, leaving them a broken, despised and unwanted remnant. This same agony was repeated again during the first century after Christ, and has been perpetuated during their long night of wandering. They spiritually are still orphans and fatherless, and as in widowhood. The prayers of prophets and faithful men have not been answered as yet, except in the sense of working in the development of things to the glorious consummation still to be effected.
Jeremiah's words are again a confession that the idolatries and superstitions of the world are no guarantee of protection against the evils of the nations. It is a prayer placing them nationally and prophetically before God as in a position for consideration. It is a humble admission that God is the Father of all those who put their trust in Him.
"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him" (Psa. 103.13). So also He has declared, that He will be (Psa. 68:5)— "A Father to the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows."
This was the hope in the prophet's heart during his long and solitary vigil. He saw his nation spurn the love of their Father. He knew the destitute condition they would be in without the Heavenly assistance. Yet he trusted that the time would come when the prodigal son would return: "They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.
"He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock" (Jer. 31:9-10).
But that day is yet future. The prophet did not see it in his time. Paul in writing to the Corinthians indicates our relationship to the fulfilment of these things. He takes the point from the national plane of Israelitish regathering to the spiritual level when God dwells in the fullest sense in the children of righteousness, among those who have separated themselves from the world and all its activities. Quoting Jeremiah's words, Paul declared:
"God hath said, I will dwell IN them, and walk IN them; and be their God, and they shall be My people.
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate: and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty"
-1954 Berean
The promises of God in the past were real and literal in the eyes of the nation. But they had presumed upon them. They felt that they were unconditional. Yet, whether we look at the Abrahamic, Mosaic or Davidic covenants we observe that they were reciprocal. The land itself was the basis of the covenants:
"All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever" (Gen. 13:15).
"Ye shall dwell in your land safely, and I will give you peace in your land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid" (Lev. 26:5-6).
This was their heritage. It was that unto which they had been brought from the darkness of slavery in Egypt. It was described unto them in the richest terms:
"A land flowing with milk and honey" (Exo. 3:8).
This was a glorious heritage for which they did not have to labor, a country all prepared for them. They were guaranteed these conditions would continue while they placed their confidence in their Creator, and obeyed His voice. Jeremiah's prayerful lament is now a confession of national departure from God's way. Certainly it was not the condition which their Father desired, nor that which was to be their ultimate destiny by the nature of the promises.
The prophet Jeremiah had expressed the Creator's mind and intention with Israel. The very inheritance which God had granted them was intended to stir them up to a realization that He was their Father. Jer. 3:19 (Goodspeed trans.)— "I thought, how would I rank you among the sons, and give you a pleasant land, the goodliest heritage of all the nations!
And I thought, surely you will call me Father, and will not turn back from Me!"
But they were as an unfaithful woman. They rejected the blessings which were bestowed upon them. They refused to have God as their Father. But seeking the parental protection of their idols and those of the nations they learned to their dismay (Lam. 5:3)— "We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows."
This was the actual circumstance in many cases, we may be sure. Judah's stand against the will of God, refusal to submit to the yoke of Babylon, in drinking of the cup which had passed over unto them, would take the prime of their nation, leaving them a broken, despised and unwanted remnant. This same agony was repeated again during the first century after Christ, and has been perpetuated during their long night of wandering. They spiritually are still orphans and fatherless, and as in widowhood. The prayers of prophets and faithful men have not been answered as yet, except in the sense of working in the development of things to the glorious consummation still to be effected.
Jeremiah's words are again a confession that the idolatries and superstitions of the world are no guarantee of protection against the evils of the nations. It is a prayer placing them nationally and prophetically before God as in a position for consideration. It is a humble admission that God is the Father of all those who put their trust in Him.
"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him" (Psa. 103.13). So also He has declared, that He will be (Psa. 68:5)— "A Father to the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows."
This was the hope in the prophet's heart during his long and solitary vigil. He saw his nation spurn the love of their Father. He knew the destitute condition they would be in without the Heavenly assistance. Yet he trusted that the time would come when the prodigal son would return: "They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.
"He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock" (Jer. 31:9-10).
But that day is yet future. The prophet did not see it in his time. Paul in writing to the Corinthians indicates our relationship to the fulfilment of these things. He takes the point from the national plane of Israelitish regathering to the spiritual level when God dwells in the fullest sense in the children of righteousness, among those who have separated themselves from the world and all its activities. Quoting Jeremiah's words, Paul declared:
"God hath said, I will dwell IN them, and walk IN them; and be their God, and they shall be My people.
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate: and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty"
-1954 Berean