Balm in Gilead

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Jeremiah is sometimes known as the weeping prophet, and this passage gives us a good example of why. Jeremiah and other prophets were often accused of wishing harm on Israel, of disrespecting the king or the temple. We see similar accusations when citizens protest government policies and are accused of being unpatriotic. The truth is, Jeremiah loved his people; he loved the temple. But he also saw the disaster the people were bringing on themselves, so he had to warn them. Here we see how deeply he feels his people's pain. We see that delivering messages of doom is painful for him, even though he knows it is his responsibility.

We also see Jeremiah's famous question: "Is there no balm in Gilead?" During slavery African American Christians who knew that God had not abandoned them answered that question with the song most of us know well. Even in that dark time those Christians knew God would send hope and healing. There is a balm in Gilead; even after disaster God brings new life.

God bless,
Sam

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
18My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick. 19Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" ("Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their foreign idols?") 20"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." 21For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. 22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?
1 O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!