Jeremiah continues his
description of the way he felt as he overlooked the devastated city
of Jerusalem. We have learned that his description becomes a type of
Jesus Christ as He suffered, bled and died for our sins, and in
chapter three and verse eleven Jeremiah tells of feelings of being
turned aside, pulled in pieces and made desolate where we read:
He has turned aside my
ways, and pulled me in pieces: he has made me desolate.
The
verse begins, “He has turned aside my ways,...” The
idea behind “turned aside”
is “cause to depart, remove, take away, put away, depose”.
It means to “put aside, leave undone, retract, reject, or abolish”.
Where Jeremiah once felt his ways, journey and direction were going
with God, he now felt like he was abandoned, rejected and put away.
The
verse continues, “... and pulled me in pieces:” Next
Jeremiah describes his situation as though the Lord has “pulled
me in pieces” or “to rip or tear into parts”. Where he once
felt whole and able to go through life with a sense of togetherness,
Jeremiah now felt torn apart.
Finally
the verse says, “he has made me desolate.” In addition to
feeling rejected and torn in pieces, Jeremiah said God “made me
desolate” or “appalled, stunned, or stupefied”. He was
“awestruck, horrified, ravaged, astounded and caused to be ruined”.
The events which occurred around Jeremiah made him feel deposed,
ripped in pieces and horrified. Rather than feeling close to God, he
felt that God was against him.
There
are sometimes when we may feel like God has rejected us, torn us in
pieces, and made us desolate or alone. Life brings events that evoke
these emotions, however, the truth is that we are never alone. In the
book of Hebrews in chapter thirteen and verse five we read:
Let
your conversation be without covetousness; and be
content with such things as you have: for he has said, I will never
leave you, nor forsake you.
When we
have feelings such as Jeremiah's, we must remember that they are just
emotional reactions to our circumstances. Sometimes our emotions
deceive us and make us draw incorrect conclusions. When these times
enter our lives, and they will, we must rely upon the Holy Word of
God and Jesus Christ His Son who promises, “Lo, I am with you
always, even until the end of the age”.
Next
time we see how Jeremiah uses bows and arrows as examples of the way
he feels, 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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