TRAGEDY! Don’t be fooled: Jeremiah #10.2

Dark and Difficult times: Man’s perspective or God’s?

Sep 19, 2025

Hi Guys, this is a follow up on Jeremiah chapter 14 and 15, I touched on a few points last week, but felt like more needed to be said. I would not be surprised if you have never heard these chapters from the pulpit … perhaps because they would not sit well with popular opinion about God’s character? Since I believe the whole scripture is inspired and worth looking at: Here we go!

Oh yes, I have personally sung a song for you that I believe will encourage us all as we face difficult and confusing times. You will find the video at the end of this post 🎵🥁😊. Back to Jeremiah:

It was in a tragic time, and Jeremiah was charged not to bring comforting words to a suffering people, but rather the truth that things were going to get much, much, worse.

Noteworthy Notes

Firstly, I want to clearly say that I don’t believe every tragedy is directly from God. Although we must accept that He does allow every tragedy to happen.

Secondly, from my understanding of scripture it is clear that some tragedy is directly from God. This being the case — it will always come after plenty of warning and opportunity to ‘avert disaster’ (such as the time of Noah and the flood, or when Jonah went to warn Nineveh). Jeremiah was called to bring such a message of warning (previous chapters will show this.) His predecessor Isaiah had done the same thing, even at the cost of his life under the reign of King Manasseh (more about this later).

The third important note as we go into this chapter, is that God is speaking to a people who had accepted the covenant brought to them through Moses (The Mosaic Covenant). If we took time to read the words of Moses we would see that it consists of blessings and curses, many of which are linked to their possession (living in and enjoying the fruits) of the promised land. In a nutshell: Obey His commands and it will go well with you and you will live in the land He has given you, disobey His commands and things will not go well, and you will lose possession of the land He have given you.” Remember that Jeremiah is going to tell them that they will lose their homes, their land, everything!

Lastly, it would be worth looking at these previous posts from Isaiah, (start here) surrounding the context of the reign of King Manasseh in Judah. Why? Because in chapter 15 God says “And I will make them (His people) a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.” A friend of mine studying ancient literature, recently told me (half surprised) how so much literature revealed Jewish people rooted in occultism, astrology, and pagan worship. I was studying the book of Isaiah at the time and could only nod, sadly … for as we see through Manasseh’s reign, the people of God embraced sin and ungodliness to a point where God, who is slow to anger, got angry. Because yes - our God gets angry, and because yes — our God loves.

In Jeremiah’s shoes

Now before I ask you to read through the chapters, put yourself (as best as possible) in Jeremiah’s position, so you can better understand his struggle and his victory.

So imagine with me (some of you won’t have to imagine as this may be very real to you): When the 09/11 disaster happened (which for multiple reasons I believe was NOT a direct disaster, although is was allowed to happen) … you are in New York, with the suffering families, on the streets, and helping where you can. As you talk to the people who have lost so much, including loved ones, you want to bring God’s heart to them, and how tempting would it be to offer them a false comfort and a false hope? In short: We know that many people died that day without knowing Jesus, and their pre-mature death was tragic in every sense.*

Now think of Jeremiah, who was in the midst of a people suffering from famine and drought directly from the Lord’s hands. He wanted to be like other prophets (false ones) and bring words of peace, instead he was tasked to say that because of your sins — more disaster is coming. An invading army that will kill by sword and take you captive to a foreign land? Wow.

God’s anger has reached it’s ‘peak’ - He has ‘run out’ of patience. He will not relent from bringing disaster on His people, His heritage.

Jeremiah is so troubled in himself, to think that such a terrible thing will happen. He prays to the Lord, confessing the peoples sins … appealing to His promises, His character, His power. Yet God replies that he will not relent. Jeremiah tries again and repeats a prayer perhaps even more earnestly … maybe he was thinking of Moses and Samuel and how they were able to “change God’s mind” through prayer and petition. Yet this time God is unmoved in his decision!

Have you shouted, why God? It’s not fair God? Can’t you do something about it God? Don’t you see the suffering God? Please oh God?

Jeremiah wanted to tell the people good news, he wanted to offer them relief. But God was not listening, and Jeremiah falls into a depression, crying out to his mother and lamenting his very birth. He felt alone and sad, and had nowhere to go.

The words of God were once his comfort, now as he sought them again God speaks to Jeremiah. Please read the words yourself in chapter 15:19-21:

Let me offer a poem that tries to catch their essence:

Ah Jeremiah, remember your call

How my words were fire in your bones

You were ready to speak, ready for it all

Yet now you complain that you’re alone?

You listen to people, their thoughts and their logic

Yet they see what is hear and now, that’s all

Can you change the heart of a man, tell me, how?

Yet am I not good, still here, with you, to reveal more!

Did I not call you to influence them?

Yet now they influence you.

And you look to me as if I’ve done wrong

Come back Jeremiah, I’ll show you what’s true

Come back to me, don’t go back to them

Remember the fire, remember the call

‘Cos I will deliver and I will save

For I am the God over all

In closing, I must humbly say that we are living in NOISY times, where the opinions of men will shout louder, likely to drown out the still small voice of Truth. My prayer is that the truth might meet our hearts, and allow us to see things God’s way.

I’ve said it before, but I am so glad that Jeremiah accepted God’s rebuke. He came back to his calling, and later we will see that he described what the new Messianic covenant would contain in contrast to the Mosaic covenant. He would point to the hope of a changed heart, and how this would be an individual dealing with ‘each’ person rather than ‘a people.’

We need only look to Manasseh himself, perhaps the worst King in history who in the end … found mercy as he cried out to God. (2 Chronicles).

My friends, God is just and good, merciful and full of love. And far be it from me to say I could handle things better than Him. Let’s cling to Him, His words, and find strength from him in dark times. For dark times will come. And may these words help us to stand.

Amen

*I want to be clear that I believe this was not a disaster directly from God, one clear reason is there was no warnings from any prophetic voice to precede it. It is a disaster that can’t be compared to the one of Jeremiah’s day, so sharing it was simply to help put you understand Jeremiah’s position that much more ie: Why he started to take the people’s side over God’s.

Please tune in next time for more stuff from the prophet Jeremiah. Words more relevant today than ever before. If you enjoyed this post, please comment and share so others can too!

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