Jeremiah changes voice abruptly and skips around a lot. In many cases that change in voice is not indicated; we simply have to discern from the clues that a change of speaker has taken place – and then go back and read that part again from where the speaker changed. This book is not easy reading! So if you are struggling to follow it, there is a good reason. I encourage you to go back and read passages whenever you grasp the fact that there is a change of speaker halfway through it, and who that speaker is.
Since Jeremiah ministered during the last forty years of Judah’s existence as a nation, he obviously has much to say about upcoming judgment and God’s reasons for it. Jeremiah seems caught in the middle between God and his people. He’s sometimes appalled at the people’s sin and sometimes appalled at God’s harsh judgment. He is the perfect person to be the intercessor. What will an intercessor ask for? Mercy! Help! This is where we see Messiah in the book.
Look what Jeremiah has the nerve to ask in chapter 14: “Although our sins testify against us, O Lord, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you. O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress….” Jeremiah is also a very emotional man. (Don’t think that he’s girly for that; people of that ancient Near Eastern culture didn’t hold back their emotions.) He felt Judah’s pain acutely, and his deeply-felt emotions made him cry out on their behalf. As grieved as he was, he understood that there was no justification for their behavior, and not nearly enough good in them to outweigh the bad. There was nothing to plead on their behalf but God’s mercy and help. That’s the place where any human being needs to be: helpless, hoping only in God.
Think about that and offer praise to God. In our hopelessly sinful state, God is approachable. He’s beyond approachable – He’s our hope, hope for salvation from sin and healing from sin’s wounds. Do you grasp how important hope is to us? We may have the luxury of taking that for granted, and thus don’t value it as we should. I encourage you to offer God thanks and praise now for His help for us and the hope He offers us.