THE STORY OF JEREMIAH – Lamentations 3:49–57 – “My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite, until the LORD from heaven looks down and sees; my eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the daughters of my city.
“I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause; they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me; water closed over my head; I said, ‘I am lost.’
“I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’”
After Elijah, the dark years of idolatry and injustice continued. Even as one prophet after another came to God’s people, God seemed farther and farther away. Then, one terrible day, an invading army took away the very emblem of God’s presence—the temple. The Old Testament ends with a long period known as the exile, in which God’s temple and God’s people were scattered.
The prophet who saw this coming was Jeremiah. Jeremiah is often called “the weeping prophet” for the many laments he wrote. The book of Lamentations, for instance, which details the horror of Jerusalem’s destruction, flowed from Jeremiah’s pen—and from his broken heart.
We resonate with the laments of people like Jeremiah when we walk through a period of injustice or suffering. We cry out to God, “Do not close your ear to my cry for help!” We echo the psalmist’s desperate question, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1a).
Laments like these are not mere complaints, God giving us space to process negative emotions. Nor are they requests for information, as if God could pull back the curtain and show us enough of his plan for us to be satisfied. Primarily, these laments are pleas for God to act—to see our suffering and to do something about it.
When we look at the injustice of the world, when we endure great suffering, we respond like Jeremiah: We know, in our guts, that something is wrong. We weep and we plead with God to do something.
God answered Jeremiah’s prayers. While in exile, Jeremiah got the privilege of bearing the message to Israel: It will not always be this way. God still has a good plan for his people not just a today-plan, but a tomorrow-plan. In fact, it’s a forever-plan. One day, the exile will end and God will bring you home (cf. Jeremiah 29).
We cannot understand Christmas without walking with Jeremiah through exile and lament. This is not just a helpful path for people who have suffered. It is a reminder for all of us—no matter how great or terrible our year has been— of how broken the world is and how far away God seems. The light of Christmas shines brightly. But it must shine in the darkness
Jeremiah didn’t get to see the full beauty of that light. He never returned home. What Jeremiah did get was God’s presence in the midst of his exile. Note God’s response to Jeremiah’s lament. As Jeremiah recounts, “You came near when I called on you” (Lamentations 3:57a).
In the midst of difficulty, God invites his people to lament, to weep, to plead with him to do something. In response, he promises to act—not primarily by taking away our difficulty, but by drawing near to us. Even, as we see in the life of Jesus, by lamenting with us (cf. John 11:35).
Like Jeremiah, Jesus was a prophet who experienced pain, suffering, and injustice. It was the very reason he came— to share in our suffering and vulnerability so that we might share in his life.
Pray—and Sing!
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o’er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come And open wide our heav’nly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. 1
