Drought

Absence of water

A drought/famine has entered the land.

a. Deuteronomy 28 is the context, in a sense for the entire book of Jeremiah- a list of the curses that Israel would bring upon herself if she forsook YHWH and began worshiping other gods. This is the Mosaic Covenant that the Lord made with His people. In a very real sense this Covenant is still in effect today for the people of God, the disciples of Jesus Christ. For if we forsake our Lord and leave Him to follow other gods, so will we too be cursed and suffer accordingly.

b. Drought and, relatedly, famine, is one of the curses- God is BEING FAITHFUL in bringing these things to pass. He HAS BEEN compassionate and patient. But now the cup of iniquity is full, and the Lord is true to His Word. And so here we see a drought hit Israel, the fulfillment of God’s promise to His people. And this drought impacts everyone in Israel. The wealthy and the poor, the righteous and the unrighteous, no one is spared from the effects of this drought.

Matthew 5:45- For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

When we as a nation, as a community, as a people, when we turn away from God’s Word, from His holiness, from His righteous call upon our lives, then everyone suffers. We all suffer as a community from philosophies that destroy marriages. We all suffer from the fallout of hundreds of millions of people worldwide (men and women, although mostly men) being addicted to online pornography. We all suffer from the promoting and profit of the government from gambling and drugs.

And when the culture adopts these kinds of inherently destructive policies, everyone, including God’s people, suffers.

(woman who killed the baby)

So had everyone in Israel abandoned the Lord? No, there were people very much given over to God such as Daniel and Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and others whose names we will never know this side of heaven. But all of them would suffer from the idolatry of the nation as a whole. And that is as it should be, for we are all connected to one another and we are not islands, we are a people, the human race. That is why the love we bear one another matters so much...that the Greatest commandment could not simply be love God, but it must include loving one another as well for we are made to be in close relationship with one another all the days of our lives and into the next life as well for those whom the Lord saves from their sin.

c. My complicated relationship with water. I do not like water...when I am thirsty it is all I want.

I. Severe want turns people’s eyes to God

Drought and Famine and War and disease all create suffering. And when we suffer we look to alleviate our suffering and because usually drought, famine, war and disease are out of our control, our eyes turn to God for relief. It is the old saying there are no atheists in foxholes. Suffering turns people’s eyes to God. And we can see in the Mosaic Covenant that the Lord promises suffering if His people were to turn away from Him and worship idols and false gods.

II. But severe want does not necessarily turn people’s hearts to God. They may WANT something from Him, but do not necessarily want HIM, His presence, His blessing, His Kingdom.

Is it punishment?

Yes, but what IS punishment exactly? We distinguish in the world between punishment and torture, right? Punishment is not torture. Punishment is supposed to have a purpose, and that purpose is twofold. One, it allows the one being punished to pay the debt for the guilt he or she has incurred. When we wrong someone and cause THEM to suffer we recognize that in some fashion we have incurred a debt that we can only pay by suffering ourselves.

[Exo 21:24-25 ESV] 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

This is justice. You could say that justice is the equal exchange of suffering. For centuries the Israelites had been abandoning God, and so now HE was abandoning them. An eye for an eye.

Most Christians know of this passage from Jesus’ sermon on the mount where he says, you have heard it said an eye for an eye, but I say to you, turn the other cheek and do not seek revenge. And we mistakenly think, without much reflection, that Jesus is saying that the old law was OK, or fine for the time, but this is a better law that really improves upon the OT law. And that is not at all what Jesus is saying.

No, not even remotely. Jesus changed nothing with regard to the Mosaic Law. The law is still eye for eye and tooth for tooth. The law still requires punishment for your sins and mine. Jesus says in the same book, Matthew, heck, even in the same chapter, that not one stroke of the pen will pass away from the Old Testament as long as heaven and Earth exist. No, Jesus did not change or amend the Mosaic Law. He fulfilled it. When He said, but I say to you, turn the other cheek, He wasn’t saying His Father got it wrong when He gave Moses that Law, and that now Jesus was correcting something that was imperfect.

The sermon on the Mount was simply pointing, as was Jesus’ entire Earthly ministry, to the Cross. Jesus was saying you no longer have to worry about the Law bringing you death, because I am going to take your punishment upon myself. Every eye that should have been gouged out and every tooth that should have been knocked out will be a blow that I will endure in your place.

Isaiah 53:4–6 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

And because I am going to do that, says Jesus your Lord, you no longer have the right to punish those who sin against you. You no longer have the right of revenge.

But the Lord must punish sin. For He is fully righteous, and the Lord does not forget Sin. Sin must be dealt with. And this is His message to Jeremiah that He, the Lord, must punish Israel for her sins. Which is why in verse 11 He says

Jeremiah 14:11–12 “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.””

There is no point in praying for

Jeremiah 14:10 “Thus says the Lord concerning this people: “They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the Lord does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.””

But punishment can have a second purpose other than paying a debt, and that second purpose is to improve or better the character of the individual being punished. So for example when a parent grounds a child for some bad behavior the suffering of the child brings no one any pleasure, but the hope is that they will learn from the suffering not to repeat that behavior. And we have talked about that with regard to the Babylonian Exile as well, how it really marked the end of Israel’s desire to worship pagan gods. Israel would have other sins to be sure, but polytheism would not be one of them after the Exile.

it is also the last lever that the Lord can pull that will get people to look to Him.

II. Severe Want Does Not Necessarily Turn People’s Hearts To God

*Looking to God out of desperation is not the same as having a heart of love for and heart of obedience to God.

*We see here in Jeremiah 14 what appears to be, in response to this drought, the first sincere prayer given by the people of Jerusalem or a priest on their behalf...perhaps a summary of the hearts of the people at this time.

Jeremiah 14:7–9 ““Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you. O you hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night? Why should you be like a man confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot save? Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us.””