Jeremiah was in the midst of
declaring his personal reaction to the destruction in Jerusalem. He
felt the affects of their devastation and becomes a type of the way
Jesus endured the suffering of His persecution and eventual
crucifixion upon the cross. In chapter three and verse five we see
more of Jeremiah's appraisal of his circumstances. We read:
He has built against
me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
The
verse begins, “He has built against me,...” Jeremiah saw
his conditions as though God had “built against” him or
“erected or established” barriers against him to prevent escape.
When the judgment of the LORD fell upon Jerusalem, there was no where
to hide, and there was no where to flee from His mighty hand.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and compassed me
with gall and travail.” Jeremiah
felt that God had “compassed”
him or “went around, surrounded, encompassed or enclosed” him
with “gall” which
means “venom, bitterness or poison”. He also believed himself to
be enclosed with “travail”
or “toil, hardship, distress, and weariness”. There is nothing
like the feeling of having God be against us, and Jeremiah knew that
feeling well.
Paul the
apostle wrote in the book of Romans in chapter eight and verse
thirty-one:
We read
these words in light of what Jeremiah wrote. Rather than God being
for him, Jeremiah felt that God was against him. We know because of
the penalty of sin, Jesus experienced God being “against”
Him as well. For that brief moment when Jesus cried, “My God, My
God. Why have you forgotten me?” Jesus experienced not only the
separation from God but also the “gall and travail” that
occurs when that takes place. Because of Jesus' sacrifice we do not
have to face having the walls “built against” us, and we
do not have to experience Him surrounding us with “gall and
travail”. As we ponder these things, let us be ever grateful to
God the Father for Jesus Christ His Son, and the penalty He paid that
we might have fellowship with Him.
Next
time we see how Jeremiah felt he was exiled to the dark and dead, 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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