Jeremiah [Prophet, not the Bullfrog]

I've been reading Jeremiah lately.  Which is kind of daunting because a) it's the longest book in the Bible, & b) it's one that's easy to get bogged down in.

Jeremiah's name means, "the Lord appoints," or "Jehovah sends."  He was a prophet to Judah for five decades & warned them of the judgment they were going to face.  [If you want an idea of when this was, it was during the reign of Judah's last five kings before they were overtaken by Babylon.]  

This message that Jeremiah brought was no surprise to them...it had already been prophesied by both Joel & Micah.   

I've only read the first eight chapters, but...we can see where this is going for Judah.  And it doesn't look good.

Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet."  It's very obvious why.  You can tell that he felt the weight of Judah's sin.  He heart because God hurt.  Like many in the Old Testament, Judah was caught up in this cycle where they would worship idols, ignore God, repent, & then slink back to their idols & start the cycle over again. 

I can imagine how Jeremiah must've felt.  I haven't read anywhere that he was the only faithful follower during this time, but I can imagine many of the prophets must've been lonely.  Look at the messages they were called to bring...they weren't exactly bright & cheery, so I doubt they had tons of friends.  I picture him as a devoted servant, preaching the same message over & over & over for fifty years, rarely seeing any sign that anyone was listening. 

The other day as I was reading this, I thought...poor Jeremiah.  He lived amongst so much sin, yet he was so faithful & kept doing what God was calling him to do.  And then I realized what I'd said to myself.  Look at the world we live in...things surround us every single day that make God weep.  Are we standing up against those things?  Or are we complacently waiting on when a) things change (being optimistic here...) or b) the day when we leave this earth & her troubles behind?

The place where God calls each of us can be lonely at times.  Are we as faithful as Jeremiah?  Are we as persistent?  Are we lights in darkness, even when it's not easy?  Even when there appears to be no fruit?

Not to say that Jeremiah was perfect.  I think we have a huge misconception of the Bible "greats."  Behind every Old & New Testament hero, you'll find sin galore.  They were people just like us.  [stepping off the soapbox...]  He screwed up at times.  He made mistakes & he did things that I'm sure he wished he could take back.  But this is what's recorded about Jeremiah: he wept at God's sorrow.  He did what God called for years on end.  He felt God's heart for His people.  All things that we need to be on a daily basis.