Jeremiah (1-31) 30:12 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Jeremiah (1-31) 30:12

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‘For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.’ This is clearly of me, says the Lord. ‘There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.’ There is no remedy for you, says the Lord. ‘All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not.’ Instead of Judah looking to God and believing the prophet Jeremiah (and previously, Isaiah) they took human measures to secure their safety, and they made treaties with various nations, principally of course with Egypt. But Egypt let them down, and Egypt anyway was soundly defeated at the battle of Carchemish by the Babylonians, and then took no further interest in Israel. ‘All thy lovers have forgotten thee’ – the various agencies that you depended on. ‘For I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.’ There was strong discipline for Judah, and they must understand why it had come. God had not failed them; he had not been unable to defend them against such a powerful enemy. He had chastised them, and that to do them good, they must see why it had come, and respond accordingly. Yes, he has had to deal with them severely, but he has not abandoned them. There is encouragement for us, even under chastisement.‘Why criest thou for thine affliction?’ When you pray for deliverance, God says to them, don't pray only because you want to be relieved of your affliction and your pain and your captivity. I won't answer those prayers. Pray because you want the promise of God to be brought to pass. You want Israel to be established so that Messiah can be born out of her in accordance with prophecy. Pray for the purposes of God to be fulfilled and for you to be used in the salvation of souls. ^‘Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.’As we draw near to the end of time and Satan's little season and, we hope, the last revival and the return of Christ, there will be a great demise in the power of rationalism and atheism and all the enemies of God’s people. That was not perfectly fulfilled after the return of the Jews from captivity; only partially but not fully. The final fulfilment of this prophecy waits for the Lord's return. So the promises continue through the chapter, and they become richer and richer.

Application

This speaks to us today because God's word is ultimately for us. Never, never depend upon the flesh. The church of Jesus Christ never puts itself in a situation where it is looking to human strength for deliverance, human instruments, human devices and gimmicks and arrangements. We have the word of God, the gospel, and prayer, and we depend upon him. Everything else will let us down.

We can pray for deliverance from our illness, from our affliction; we can pray, but don't focus all your prayers on your suffering, your problem, your need, when the chief purpose of prayer is to pray for the glory of the gospel and the prospering of the word of God, the conversion of lost sinners and instrumentality for Christ. That is what this verse is about. We may cry under affliction, but don't major on that. The big things to us are the things of God and the glory of Christ and the prosperity of the gospel.

God has put conviction that these things are true into your heart. What a prize that is! That he has given you instrumentality, extraordinary instrumentality and opportunities; treasure them. He has given you deliverances; treasure and record them. He has given you some vindications; treasure them also. He has given you knowledge.

On several occasions when Jeremiah is in great difficulty, you will find a glorious prayer which rehearses God's great attributes: his power, his lovingkindness, his wisdom, his justice, his encouragements, God's nature and his character. These things, the prophet turns to in a great prayer which is like a doxology. That is a source of comfort and consolation. So we consider six things: value convictions; value every opportunity that God gives you for speaking of him; value deliverances, vindications; value all your knowledge; and when you can, reflect on the attributes of God. My God is Almighty; he is all powerful; he is perfect, holy; no shadow of turning in him, no stain, no blemish. He is perfect, truthful. He is love; he is just. He will bring his purposes to pass; he has perfect wisdom; he knows all things; he is a personal God; he loves his people. Just reflect on those things. What encouragement, what strengthening! Jeremiah was more attacked and hindered and opposed than any other, and he was the most lonely of all the prophets probably. But God gave him encouragements which he needed.

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Jeremiah (1-31) 30:12 Commentary and Bible Study