There is a profound movement to the oracles in chapter 14 and 15. They take the form of a conversation with God. Here God takes up a lament for his people and Jeremiah then responds with a penitential prayer. In this Jeremiah is acting as the representative of Judah. Interestingly though, Yahweh tells Jeremiah to stop praying for Judah. And yet Jeremiah continues to plead their case. This is a feature of biblical literature that I have always treasured. There is a kind of wrestle here, a man wrestling with God, implicitly on behalf of his people. Jacob, the father of the nation of Israel wrestled with God in a story full of symbolic meaning about the power of intercession. From here, examples of intercession abound throughout Scripture. Moses’ regular intercession for rebellious Israel is a prime example. In these examples the intercessory prayer follows the announcement of judgement and invariably leads to God relenting. In this case God promises to restore his people if they would only repent of their sins (15:19). Jeremiah’s prayer is answered in potential. The blessing has been secured by the intercession, but it is to be appropriated through repentance. The climactic culmination of this theme of intercession throughout Scripture is of course the intercession of Christ. Hebrews 11:25: “Therefore [Christ] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” If blessing for Judah was gained through Jeremiah’s intercession how much for us with Christ’s intercession!
Give thanks to God for his commitment to your restoration.
Read Jeremiah 14
