Send the Rain

“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. There is no food sold at her gates. People are crying. A nobleman’s lad returns from a well with an empty bucket. Rich soil has become a poor powder. No rain! The plowmen have no produce. A mother deer forsakes her newborn because she has nothing to feed it. Donkeys grow faint due to the lack of 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 Hus people, the Lord delegated authority to Elijah to stop the physical rain. 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.” The Lord delegates this authority to His two witnesses in the last days. “These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.” (1 Kings 17:1, Revelation 11:6)

Colossians 1:16-17 declares that Jesus Christ created and sustains the universe. He has power over the wind and waves, and over the 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

The people could not ask God to help them based on their merits because they sinned against Him and turned their backs on Him. So, they asked Him to help them for His Name’s sake. David prayed like that, saying, “For Your Name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.” (Psalm 25:11)

We should never trust in our own merits. Isaiah wrote, “We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” The Gospel is, “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. This is why when we pray, we pray in the Name of Jesus. He taught us, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (Isaiah 64:6; Titus 3:5; John 14:13)

“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? 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. 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 14:8-10

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 for the communication breakdown whereas it was the other way around. Now, they did not want God to leave them.

“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

Fastings and food offerings without love amounted to manipulation. God wanted their love not their things without endearing thoughts. He created all things and sustains them.

God does not need our things. He wants our love. God is love. His first commandment is to love Him. How is it that we tend to speak so much about not breaking the other commandments and fail to mention this one? If we get this one right, the others will follow.

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.

Proverbs 15:8 says, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” Proverbs 28:9 says, “He who turns away his ear from listening to the Law, even his prayer is an abomination.”

Pride blinds us to our lack of love for God and others. Pride would have us to only think about what makes us feel superior to others. Humility reminds to think more about God and others.

Romans 8:28 says, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” The Lord explained to Paul why He did not remove an affliction from him. Paul wrote, “Lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

“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 were directly contradicting the Lord. Jeremiah’s voice was like a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. He was sounding the alarm.

Jeremiah brought the leadership problem to the Lord in prayer. The Lord affirmed his observation.

“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

We must be very careful in these last days. Jesus said that false prophets and false messiahs will appear and deceive many. They will tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. 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.” (Matthew 24:4-5, 11; Romans 16:18)

“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 in this case 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. Paul wrote, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. But what will you do in the end?” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

There was a man named Edgar Cayce who grew up in church. It was said that he read his Bible through every year. But Edgar 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. Edgar scammed his followers with a “how to” that removed their focus away from Jesus Christ who died and resurrected for their salvation.

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. Edgar Cayce is an example of a false prophet. He supposedly read God’s Word but added to it the poison of occult practices.

Jerusalem’s false prophets were destined to die in the streets of famine and sword. Their wives and children would have no one to bury them. Their foolish gambling with lies would yield calamities not cash.

Beware! In 1978, a so-called Reverend Jim Jones led over 900 people to drink cyanide-laced fruit punch and they died. People perish who follow false prophets.

“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

In 1971, an ad premiered on TV featuring a crying Indian. It was an anti-littering public service announcement promoted by the “Keep America Beautiful” movement. The commercial featured American Indian actor Iron Eyes Cody dressed as a Native American shedding a tear after litter was thrown from a car and landed 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 without knowing Christ?

Psalm 126:5-6 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” We want to reap the sheaves of human souls coming to Christ.

“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

The false prophets prophesied peace, but peace was absent. Instead of growth there was decline. They needed God but refused to turn to Him. Jeremiah confessed their sin before God. He repented on behalf of those who would not.

Jeremiah asked God not to abhor them for His Name’s sake. He wanted God to turn the tide in human behavior so that God’s throne of grace would not be disgraced. He asked God to keep His end of the covenant with His people even though they had repeatedly broken their end of the covenant with Him. 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.” Romans 5:6-10 says, “When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Praise the Lord!

“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, all else has failed us. 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. As Your Word says, ‘The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.’ We do not deserve You. We cannot earn You. We ask for Your grace. 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.” (Romans 4:17)