19 - the weeping prophet

i finally(!) finished the book of jeremiah. and throughout it, i can see why people called him the, "weeping prophet".

this guy was so faithful to the words of God and faithfully spoke them. but he lived in a time of chaos and tumultuous wartime, and so physically, mentally, and spiritually, he mustve been drained.

he spoke about repentance again and again to the jews and the kings, but again and again, they rejected his words and merely used him as a way to divert the wrath of God by keeping him with them wherever they went. theres even one crazy scene where the king listened to each line of the words of jeremiah, and the king would cut off the scroll and place it in the fire, one by one. other false prophets came during jeremiah's time and delivered a message of peace and prosperity, but they were quickly struck down by God. jeremiah, continued to preach repentence and a call from God to return to Him. and ultimately, jeremiah's message was one of love - he loved his people and longed to see them return to Him so he gave these prophecies of repentance. this is what was needed at the time.

but noone really listened. no one really cared except the jeremiah's only disciples, baruch and seraiah.

one would imagine, had they been in jeremiah's shoes, if they would just give up and run away or something. but not jeremiah. he continued to preach faithfully and gave piercing, convicting words to the people in the one of the most hardest times for the jewish people.

it may not be a glamorous life jeremiah's lived but it was one of integrity and grit and perseverance that really captivates me. although jeremiah didnt live a pleasant and popular life, he lived one that only sought after the approval of an audience of one - God.