Chapter 10: The Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations
The Prophets
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations
At Mount Sinai, the Lord made a covenant with the nation of Israel, His chosen people. He promised to bless them, provide for them, and protect them if they would obey His will in all things (Exod. 19—24). He had important work for the Israelites to do, chief among them being bringing the Son of God into the world. Moses explained the divine law to the people, and they agreed to obey it. The high priest, with his family and the Levites, was in charge of the nation’s religious life; eventually, the people of Israel had a king to guide the nation in matters national and international.
If all the people, including the kings and the priests, had kept their covenant promises, God would have faithfully blessed the nation. However, they not only disobeyed the Lord but at times rebelled against Him and arrogantly tempted Him (Deut. 6:16; Ps. 78:18, 41, 56). During those critical times, the prophets entered the scene. Moses was probably the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, but in our studies we shall meet prophets from Isaiah to Malachi. There were also prophetesses, including Miriam, sister to Moses and Aaron (Exod. 15:20); Deborah (Judg. 4:4); Huldah (2 Kings 22:14); Noadiah (Neh. 6:14); and the wife of the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 8:3). In the New Testament, you will find Anna (Luke 2:36) and Philip the evangelist’s four daughters (Acts 21:8–9).
Most people define prophets or prophetesses as persons who see into the future and announce momentous events, but much more is involved. The prophets were indeed foretellers, but even more important, they were forth-tellers, proclaiming God’s truth to God’s people and urging them to do God’s will. They reminded the people of their nation’s glorious past and urged them to abandon their sinful ways and return to the Lord their God. The prophets and prophetesses warned that, if they broke their covenant with the Lord, He could not fulfill His part in the agreement and bless them. Instead, He would have to discipline them as a parent must discipline a disobedient child. God was long-suffering with His people just as He is long-suffering with you and me. It has well been said that the task of the prophet or prophetess was not to smooth things over but to make things right. This was not an easy ministry.
The prophets and prophetesses not only exposed the people’s sin but also proclaimed what the Lord would do in the future. They especially gave instructions concerning the promised Messiah—how He would come, when He would come, where He would come, and what He would do. As we get acquainted with the prophets from Isaiah to Malachi, we will discover these prophecies and perhaps marvel that the Jewish people were unprepared when the Son of God was born in Bethlehem. But are God’s people any better prepared today for the return of Jesus?
Isaiah
Isaiah’s name means “Jehovah saves,” and the book he wrote says a great deal about salvation. The name of the Lord that Isaiah often used is “the Holy One of Israel.” Chapter 6 of his book describes his call to ministry when he was in the temple and saw the Lord on the throne. He heard the seraphim declare the holiness of God. Pause and read John 12:37–41. Isaiah not only saw the Lord, but he also saw himself as a sinner who needed to be cleansed. God showed him the nation’s terrible spiritual condition, and Isaiah offered himself to serve as God’s messenger: “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah surrendered himself to serve the Lord and also surrendered his wife (a prophetess, Isa. 8:3) and his two sons, whose names declared a prophetic message (7:3; 8:3). The whole family served the Lord!
Isaiah rebuked the Jewish people for their godless living and their empty, routine religion. He also prophesied what the Lord would do to a dozen or so of the surrounding Gentile nations, some of whom were enemies of God’s people. But perhaps Isaiah’s greatest contribution was what he wrote about the promised Messiah: His birth (7:14–16; 9:6–7), His character and ministry (9:1–2; 11:1–11), and His sacrificial death for Jews and Gentiles alike (52:13—53:12; 54:4–5). Marital unfaithfulness is not the only image the prophet used to awaken the people’s conscience. In 1:5–6, he described the nation as an ugly and diseased human body, and in 5:1–5, he saw it as a useless vineyard. The nation was also like a bulging wall about to collapse (30:12–14).
In the first chapter, God convened the court and presented the charges against His people (vv. 1–4). He presented His case (vv. 5–9), overruled their objections (vv. 10–15), and pronounced the sentence (vv. 16–20). Chapter 6 opens with an empty throne—the king had died—but continues with a glorious throne in heaven and the Lord’s enthronement in the life of the prophet. As hymn writer Jennie said, “King of my life I crown Thee now / Thine shall the glory be.”
Many people in Isaiah’s day were paralyzed by fear, but the prophet had encouragement for them in chapter 43. “Fear not,” he said, “for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine” (v. 1). More than that, Isaiah pointed out that God was with them (vv. 2, 5) and always would be. The Lord loved them (vv. 3–4), and His love would never cease. Note in 43:1 that the prophet used both names for their ancestor. Jacob means “heel-catcher,” a Jewish idiom for “he deceives,” while Israel means “power or prince with God.” All who have trusted Christ are both sinners and children of God.
As you ponder these weighty chapters, you will note that 40—48 emphasize the Father, 49—57 the Son, and 58—66 the Spirit of the Lord. The prophet wrote not only of personal forgiveness and salvation but also of national salvation—Judah saved from Assyria (chs. 36—37) and Judah from Babylon (chs. 40—41). Of course, Isaiah 53 is the crowning chapter on the forgiveness of sins.
Isaiah focuses on the coming Messiah. I suggest you get your cross-reference Bible and see how the New Testament writers use these verses from Isaiah: 7:14; 8:14; 9:6; 28:16; 42:1–4; 49:6; 50:3–6; 52:13–53:12; 61:1–2. This is but a sampling of how the Spirit used Isaiah in writing the New Testament. You have an exciting experience before you as you read the prophets and then discover how the New Testament writers quote and apply their inspired words. The person and work of Jesus Christ is a major theme of the prophets. Pause now to ponder 1 Peter 1:6–12 and give thanks for the prophets!
Jeremiah
Jeremiah’s name means “Jehovah establishes,” but he lived at a time—586 BC—when the Lord allowed the Babylonian army to destroy Jerusalem and the Jewish temple and to take Jewish prisoners to Babylon (Ps. 137). When God called Jeremiah into service, he resisted and argued that he was too young and inexperienced; but the Lord rejected his excuses and assured him, “I am with you” (Jer. 1:8, 19), “I have this day [appointed] you” (1:10), and “I have made you” (1:18). This doesn’t mean that Jeremiah became an unfeeling stoic, for Jeremiah is known as “the weeping prophet.” (See, for example, 9:1, 10, 18; 13:17; 22:10; 25:34; and Lam. 1:2, 16; 2:11, 18; 3:48). Next to my computer desk, I have a small framed reproduction of Rembrandt’s Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, and as I work, it reminds me to cultivate a tender heart and an obedient will. Tears are sometimes a mark of strength, not weakness. You may remember that Jesus also wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). And Jeremiah made it into the English dictionary as a common noun—“jeremiad: a prolonged lamentation or complaint.”
Occasionally, Jeremiah did complain to the Lord (1:6–8, 19; 12:5; 20:7), but for the most part, he bore his burdens courageously. He wept over the nation’s sins and the disobedience and disgrace of the civil and spiritual leaders whose selfishness and sins caused the fall of Jerusalem. He had few friends and many enemies, most of whom called him a traitor for telling the king to surrender to the Babylonians and spare the city and the temple (see 11:18–23; 12:6; 15:10–21; 19:15). If we want to enjoy the blessings of the Lord, we must be willing to bear the burdens of the Lord as well.
Why was the faithful prophet so often discouraged? Was it just a weakness in his personality? He had no wife and children because God forbade him to marry or to attend funerals or festivities (16:1–13). Keep in mind that he was called from being a priest to being a prophet, which was a much more difficult vocation (1:1). Priests had a routine occupation, and other priests and the Levites assisted them, but prophets moved from one crisis to another, and the people didn’t always agree with them. The priest maintained the past while the prophet judged the present and warned against future judgment. The Jewish people needed the priests to maintain their daily religious practices, but they thought they could do without the critical prophets and their warnings.
Jeremiah ministered to the people’s hearts, and they resented it. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to every man according to his ways, according to fruit of his doings” (17:9–10). Sinners don’t like to hear that kind of preaching. The word heart is used sixty-six times in Jeremiah’s book. God was looking for confession and repentance and not shallow hypocritical religious activity. Jeremiah’s vision was just too spiritual and personal for the land, and the people—especially the leaders—opposed him. Consider their view of the ark of the covenant (3:16–17), covenant circumcision (4:4), the temple (7:4–11), the holy sacrifices (7:21), and the law of God (31:31). Jeremiah called the people back to “the old paths” (6:16), but they preferred something new.
Jeremiah likened his difficult ministry as that of a farmer and a builder (1:9–10), a watchman (6:17), an assayer (6:27–30), a physician (8:21–22), a sacrificial lamb (11:19), a runner (12:5), a shepherd (13:17), and a yoke-bearer (27:1–11; 28:10). The false prophets in the land rejected Jeremiah’s messages and told the anxious people what they wanted to hear (6:13–14; 8:11), and this made the false prophets popular. Jeremiah told the people what God had told him, and they rejected him and his messages. The Lord never promised His people an easy life, and I would think something was missing in my ministry if I had no critics or enemies.
The prophet Jeremiah was a man of prayer; you find them starting in 1:6 and continuing to chapter 42. Here is a list of the prayers: 1:6; 4:10; 7:16; 9:1–3; 10:23–25; 11:14; 12:1–4; 14:7–9, 11, 19–22; 15:10, 15–18; 16:19–20; 17:12–18; 18:18–23; 20:7–18; 32:16–25, 42. In Lamentations, you find them at 1:20–22; 2:20–22; 3:52–66; 5:1–22. He prayed for his people who resisted the Lord and opposed His servant. The word Jeremiah used at least a dozen times to describe what the people did is backslide (2:19; 3:6, 8, 11–12, 22; 5:6; 8:5; 14:7). I don’t hear the word very much today, but the sin is still with us—our gradual slipping away from the Lord into a worldly lifestyle that pleases us but grieves the Lord.
In his ministry, Jeremiah used what I call “action sermons.” We shall see that the prophet Ezekiel also taught the people that way. In chapter 13, verses 1 through 11, Jeremiah buried a perfectly good linen belt to tell the people that their sins had made them good for nothing. In chapters 18 and 19, he taught them to allow God to mold them and their nation or they would be destroyed (make sure you don’t separate the two chapters). He used figs in chapter 24 and a wine cup in chapter 25 (vv. 15–29). He also used a yoke (chapters 27 and 28). Jeremiah was like Jesus in his ability to turn people’s ears into eyes so they could see the truth. Perhaps that is why some of the Jewish people thought Jesus was the prophet Jeremiah (Matt. 16:13–16). And what a compliment to Jeremiah!
Jeremiah gives us the new covenant in 31:31. You will also want to study Hebrews 8 and 10, 1 Corinthians 11:23–32, and Jeremiah 31:31–40 and 33:14–16 to learn more about that. Chapter 36 is one of my favorites because it exalts the Word of God. God gave His Word to Jeremiah, who dictated it to his secretary Baruch, who, in turn, wrote it on a scroll and then privately read it aloud to some of the leaders. They insisted that the king hear what the scroll contained, so Jehudi read it to King Jehoiakim, who not only rejected it but burned it to ashes (Jer. 36). The prophet repeated his message from the Lord, and another copy was made. For centuries, godless men and women have tried to destroy every copy of God’s Word and have failed. “Heaven and earth will pass away,” said Jesus, “but My words will by no means pass away” (Matt. 24:35). The Babylonians did come, Jerusalem was taken and destroyed, King Jehoiakim did die, but the words of God through Jeremiah are still here!
Lamentations
A lamentation is a funeral dirge, an expressing of deep pain and sorrow. That’s just the way the prophet Jeremiah felt as he watched Jerusalem and the temple being destroyed and his people being taken off into exile. Mothers were clutching their children, fathers were trying to protect their families, and the false prophets were trying to hide from the Babylonians or bargain with them for security. What was Jeremiah doing? What we expected: he was weeping, and he wrote five lamentations to instruct us in handling the pain of loss that we feel today.
Expect Tears to Come
When the Lord God created the first man and woman, He chose to give them tear ducts along with the ability to feel pain and sorrow and to weep. When something or someone precious to us is taken from us, we hurt deep down inside, and we weep. Surely, Adam and Eve wept when Cain killed his brother Abel. Abraham wept when Sarah, his wife, died. The death of a husband or wife is, to the remaining spouse, like an amputation, for they have been one, and now one is missing. Jeremiah’s five laments help us understand how much he loved his people, the city of Jerusalem, and the holy temple. Had the king obeyed Jeremiah’s messages, this tragedy would have been averted; but pride and unbelief ruled the day, and Israel was defeated.
The Bible records many people weeping, so there is no reason for us to think we today might escape. “My eye, my eye overflows with water,” wrote Jeremiah (Lam. 1:16; 2:11). Joseph shed more than his share of tears (Gen. 43:30; 46:29; 50:17), and David wept over the loss of family and friends and recorded some of these tears in his psalms (6:6–8; 30:5; 39:12; 69:10). The apostle Peter wept after denying his Lord three times (Luke 22:54–62), and the apostle John wept because there was no one to open the scroll (Rev. 5:4). Jesus wept over Jerusalem, as did Jeremiah, and He also wept at the tomb of his dear friend Lazarus. “Jesus wept” (John 11:35) even though He knew He would raise His friend from the dead.
First, we should recognize that tears are part of human life that we must accept and learn to handle. Had our first parents never disobeyed the Lord, there would be no tears because of sin and death. We must also learn to accept the tears of others and seek to comfort them. Paul wrote, “Weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). However, he also wrote that we must not “sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Jesus has conquered death and taken the sting out of death.
Give Your Tears to the Lord
Two women of opposite lifestyles brought their devotion to Jesus’ feet—our Lord’s beloved friend, Mary of Bethany (John 12:1–8), and a prostitute who repented of her sins and believed in Jesus (Luke 7:38–50). Both of them anointed His feet with costly ointment and wiped His feet with their hair, but the prostitute wept as she did it. She brought tears of repentance to Jesus as an act of worship. Our tears are usually costly, and to lay them before Jesus is to give Him ourselves and ask for His mercy and grace. Remember, nail prints scar His hands and feet because He has tasted our sufferings and knows what to do with them. He alone can turn curses into blessings (Deut. 23:5), so give your tears to the Lord.
Listen for His Message to You
Turn to the Scriptures and open your mind and heart to the Word of God. David wrote, “I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears … the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping” (Ps. 6:6, 8). God puts our tears into a bottle and writes the event in His book (56:8), so He does not forget our tears or our needs. We wipe away our tears and often forget the experience, but the Lord treasures it and prepares it for a reward.
Keep Serving!
We too often think that trials are opportunities for us to lay aside our responsibilities and even resign from our calling, but just the opposite is usually true. God wants us to go on working and to reap a harvest of blessing from the “plowing” of pain. “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” (126:5–6).
For many years, I have been a student of ministerial biography and autobiography, and I have been surprised to see how many leading servants of God over the centuries have known suffering and tears. We can’t reap a harvest unless we first plant the seed and water it with our prayers and our tears. If our heart is in our work, we will have our share of tears—and we will discover how gracious God can be when we weep. So I say it again: keep serving as long as you can. “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy” (126:5).
There will be no weeping of God’s people in heaven, for God will wipe away every tear and reward the faithful (Rev. 21:4). However, there will be weeping in hell. The warning that “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” is found six times in the gospel of Matthew alone (8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). The pains and trials we endure while serving the Lord today will be transformed into glory and blessing! The Lord keeps the records, and He will never be found at fault in his bookkeeping.
The Jewish rabbis taught that God’s people had three resources when they faced pain and trials: prayer, crying out to God, and tears. David agreed with them: “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears” (Ps. 39:12). “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (30:5).
ADVENTURE ASSIGNMENT #10
What part does weeping play in your Christian life? In the book of Psalms, various writers (especially David) weep for different reasons. Paul admonishes us to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). Why? Might we be guilty of only playing a part? How can my tears encourage others who are weeping?