As Jeremiah continued to
describe the way he felt during the aftermath of the destruction of
Jerusalem, he told us of the Lord being like and archer who had his
bow drawn at a target upon his back and was ready to unleash a full
quiver attack upon him. In chapter three and verse fourteen we see
how Jeremiah's neighbors treated him, and in their behavior we see
how Jesus' neighbors dealt with Him. We read:
The verse begins, “I was a derision to all my people;”
Jeremiah said he was a “derision” which means
“laughter, laughing stock, or mocking” to “all” his
“people” or “nation or tribe”. It was difficult enough
for him to feel abandoned and attacked by God, but now even the
people around him are mocking and ridiculing him.
The verse continues, “and their song all the day.”
Jeremiah became the “song” or “music and taunting”
song of the people around him. Not only would they make fun of him,
they also composed songs that derided and heckled him. If we use our
imaginations we can almost envision the people singing their songs,
mocking and teasing Jeremiah.
As we consider the surroundings of Jeremiah written in this verse, we
might be inclined to remember what Jesus faced just before and as He
was crucified. In the gospel of Matthew in chapter twenty-seven and
verses twenty-seven through thirty-one we read:
Then the soldiers of the
governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the
whole band of
soldiers. And
they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And
when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it
upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee
before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they
spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head And after
that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put
his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
Jesus
endured the mocking and ridicule of the people around Him to a
greater extent than Jeremiah. The next time we are the object of
others heckling perhaps we will keep in mind what Jesus endured so
that He might have fellowship and a relationship with us.
Next
time we will look at Jeremiah's bitterness and being filled with
wormwood, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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