Have we ever wondered what
it is like to live in total fear within our souls? Have we
experienced prosperity and then lost it all? These are the thoughts
of Jeremiah as he continued his lament in chapter three and verse
seventeen where we read:
And you have removed my
soul far off from peace: I forgot prosperity.
The
verse begins, “And you have removed my soul far off from
peace:” Jeremiah employed the
Hebrew word “zanach” which means “to cast off, reject, spurn or
forcefully reject someone” and it means “to stink, become
odious”. He uses this word twice as he wrote this verse as it reads
“Zanach nephesh Zanach” and implies double and repeated depth to
his emotions. His “soul”
or “self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being,
desire, emotion, passion” was affected to the core as “peace”
which means “completeness, soundness, welfare, tranquility and
contentment” was completely removed from him.
The verse goes on to say, “I forgot prosperity.” Not only
was Jeremiah's peace forcefully removed, he also “forgot
prosperity” which means “good, pleasant, agreeable,
excellent, rich, appropriate, and becoming”. It conveys the idea of
being “better, glad, happy, of good understanding, kindness and
right”. Jeremiah was so overwhelmed by his current circumstances
that he could not remember what a good and prosperous life was like
anymore.
We can
almost sense Jeremiah's despair as he goes through this third chapter
and describes his current state. As he wrote of “peace”
and “prosperity” being gone, perhaps we have experienced
losses in these areas as well or maybe we can imagine what it would
be like to be without them. Whichever the case, we see the troubles
of Jeremiah and we may be reminded of what Jesus did as he came to
the earth to die for our sins. Paul the apostle gave us an idea of
this in his letter to the Philippians in chapter two and verses six
and seven where he wrote speaking of Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
In other
words, Jesus left “peace” and “prosperity” that
we might have fellowship and a relationship with Him. As the
songwriter penned, “Oh what a Savior! O Hallelujah! He gave His
life's blood for you and me!” May we ever live in eternal peace and
prosperity that comes with God through Jesus' sacrifice, and we
should remember that we will never lose these benefits no matter what
comes our way.
Next
time we will see Jeremiah's strength and hope vanquished, 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
No comments:
Post a Comment