Great
Tragedy
As the prophet Jeremiah closed out
the 8th Chapter of his prophecy, he asked a series of rhetorical
questions that juxtaposed two realities: (1) The God of Israel is SO
NEAR at hand, and (2) Israel is SO FAR removed in its heart from her
God. He asks: “Is not the LORD in Zion? [Yes, he certainly is!] is not
her king in her? [Yes, he is very near!] Why have they [being in such
close proximity] provoked me to anger with their graven images
[man-made idols], and with strange vanities?” (Jeremiah 8:19).
Then one of the saddest commentaries
in scripture: “The harvest [reaping season] is past, the summer
[growing season] is ended, and we [the wheat] are not saved [by being
gathered into the silo of salvation]” (8:20). One of the bitter
realities of the spiritual world is that the continual rejection of
truth on man’s part makes it impossible for God to protect him. Those
who persist in the rejection of TRUTH abandon themselves to the
reception of ERROR.
Jeremiah then bears his pastoral
heart: “For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am
black; astonishment hath taken hold on me” (8:21). Israel suffered from
self-inflicted woes. So Jeremiah is ‘astonished’ they would endure such
pain unnecessarily when the cure was IN THE HOUSE! The same
could be said of America at this hour; enduring needless pain when the
God of her founding stands ready to heal.
He concludes with this inquiry: “Is
there no balm [healing ointment] in Gilead [Yes, there is medicinal
mercy close at hand]; is there no physician there? [Yes, the Doctor is
in the house!] why then is not the health of the daughter of my people
recovered?” (8:21). The answer lies in the stubborn rejection of the
Great Physician. Why people choose death when the Giver of Life is SO
close at hand is a reality that defies explanation.
My mind often races to the thief on
the Cross, who, in the hour of his deepest HURT, had the healing BALM
of grace applied as Jesus responded to his request: “Lord, remember
me!” On that dark day outside Jerusalem, the Great Physician chose not
to heal himself. But that did not prevent him from applying the BALM of
mercy to a repentant malefactor and gathering him into the silo of
salvation.
This is the great tragedy of America.
The Doctor is in the house; yet the patient has locked him out of the
room.
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