Send the Rain - Jeremiah 14

“The Word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts. Judah mourns, and her gates languish; they mourn for the land, and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up. Their nobles have sent their lads for water; they went to the cisterns and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded and covered their heads. Because the ground is parched, for there was no rain in the land, the plowmen were ashamed; they covered their heads. Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field but left because there was no grass. And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights; they sniffed at the wind like jackals; their eyes failed because there was no grass.” Jeremiah 14:1-6

God paints a vivid picture of Jerusalem’s demise. Food is scarce. People are crying. A nobleman’s lad returns from a well with an empty bucket. Rich soil has become powder. Plowmen have no produce. A mother deer forsakes her newborn. Donkeys cannot locate vegetation. Sin has cursed the climate.

Deuteronomy 11:16-17 says, “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain.”

After King Ahab and Queen Jezebel halted the spiritual rain of God’s Word upon their people. The Lord gave Elijah authority to stop the rain. In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

In Revelation 11:6, the Lord delegates this authority to His two witnesses. “These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy. They have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.”

Colossians 1:16-17 declares that Jesus Christ created and sustains the universe. He has power over wind, waves, and rain. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

“O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do it for Your Name’s sake; for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against You.” Jeremiah 14:7

Jeremiah could not ask God to help his people based on their merits because they sinned against Him and turned their backs on Him. So, Jeremiah asked God to help them for God’s Name’s sake.

In Psalm 25:11, David asked God to forgive him for God’s Name’s sake. “For Your Name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.”

Jesus taught us in John 14:13 to pray in His Name, “Whatever you ask in My Name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

We should not trust in our own merits. Titus 3:5 says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” We do well to trust in the merits of Christ alone for our salvation.

“O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, why should You be like a stranger in the land, and like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?” Jeremiah 14:8

A traveler cares little for the land he tarries but a night in. A traveler cares little for the land he tarries but a night in. The Lord did care for Israel, but He needed to bring them to repentance. He needed to let them feel distant that they might repent and draw near to Him.

Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.”

“Why should You be like a man astonished, like a mighty one who cannot save? Yet You, O Lord, are in our midst, and we are called by Your Name; do not leave us.” Jeremiah 14:9

Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”

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

The Lord was a like stranger in the land, but not due to a lack of effort on His part. For many years, He had been talking with them but they gave Him their backs and not their faces. They blamed God not themselves for the communication breakdown.

“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not pray for this people, for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.” Jeremiah 14:11-12

The fastings and food that they offered to God did not please Him. He wanted them to do as Isaiah 58:6-7 says, “Loose the bonds of wickedness… undo heavy burdens… let the oppressed go free… break every yoke… share their bread with the hungry… bring the outcast poor to their house… to clothe the naked.”

The Lord disdained their hypocritical fasting and offerings. They needed bitter medicine to cure their addiction to waywardness. He prescribed three medicines: sword, famine, and pestilence.

“Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” Jeremiah 14:13

Those with power, prestige and platform recognition contradicted the Lord. Jeremiah’s voice was like a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. He was sounding the alarm. Jeremiah told the Lord what other prophets were saying.

“And the Lord said to me, ‘The prophets prophesy lies in My Name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My Name, whom I did not send, and who say, sword and famine shall not be in this land—by sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed!’” Jeremiah 14:14-15

In Matthew 24:4-5, Jesus said that false prophets and false messiahs will appear and deceive many. In Romans 16:18, Paul warned his listeners against leaders who “do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.”

“And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.” Jeremiah 14:16

The people were not innocent either. The Lord previously told Jeremiah, “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so.” (Jeremiah 5:31)

This is happening in our days as well. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul wrote, “The time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. And they will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

There was a man named Edgar Cayce who grew up in church but became a false prophet. He supposedly read God’s Word but added to it the poison of occult practices. Cayce used hypnotic trances to supposedly heal and help people. Cotton farmers asked him to predict how their crops would do. Gamblers asked him to predict which horses would win races. No one should look to tarot cards, hypnosis, palm reading, Ouija boards, or black magic for guidance. The Lord is our shepherd. He is our guide.

Jerusalem’s false prophets yielded death not life. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 speaks of people with consciences scarred as if branded by a hot iron.

“Therefore, you shall say this word to them: ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.” Jeremiah 14:17

Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.”

In 1971, a commercial premiered on TV featuring a Native American shedding a tear after litter was thrown from a car at his feet. The ad helped to stem the tide of littering in the USA.

Tears are sometimes more effective than words, but let’s have tears flow for lost souls. Years ago, I heard a pro-life song composed for children in which whales (an endangered species) were singing, “Save the baby humans.” Where are the tears for human souls that are perishing?

“If I go out to the field, then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.” Jeremiah 14:18

Dire consequences eventually come to those who believe and act on lies.

“Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but there was no good; and for the time of healing, and there was trouble. We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You. Do not abhor us, for Your Name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.” Jeremiah 14:19-21

Jeremiah asked God not to abhor them for His Name’s sake. He asked God to keep His end of the covenant with His people even though they had repeatedly broken their end. He asked the Just One to die for the sake of unjust ones.

God answered Jeremiah’s prayer. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” Christ the Just One died for the unjust.

“Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O Lord our God? Therefore, we will wait for You since You have made all these.” Jeremiah 14:22

“Yes, Heavenly Father, we wait on You. Please send the rain on our spiritually droughted souls! We need the spiritual rain of Your blessed Holy Spirit to flood our thirsty souls with You. For Your Name’s sake! For the glory of Your throne of grace! Please rain on us. In the Name of Jesus Christ Your Son, I pray. Amen.”