A Father’s Lamentation

Jeremiah may justly call himself the man who has seen affliction. Jeremiah lived both before and during the exile of the Jewish nation to Babylon. He has prophesied of the fall of the nation and has also personally experienced it. Approximately one hundred fifty years earlier the ten tribes had been led away to Babylon. This should have been a valuable and worthwhile lesson for Judah. They could see herein what would happen to a people that forgot the Lord. Yet, Judah did not take this lesson to heart. They sped forth upon the path of sin, heading towards its destruction, but they who will not hear must feel the rod. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to the city. Although a bloody battle ensued, Judah suffered a decisive defeat, and the city and the temple were destroyed. The people were gathered together in Ramah, and from there they were transported to Babylon. Jeremiah has heard the cries and the mourning of the people, and that will have touched him in the depths of his being.

Their mourning made him think of Rachel, and whoever thinks of Rachel must think of the tears which she shed. Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife, wept a great deal, for she had Jacob’s love but not his children. That is why she envied Leah. While wringing her hands in anguish, she once stood before Jacob and said, “Give me children, or else I die.” Finally, her wish was granted, and she received a son, but that is not enough for her; she wants more. That is why she called the son which she received Joseph and said, “The Lord will add to me another son.” With her children she wished to triumph over Leah, and again she sees her wish fulfilled, for she is again with child. The birth of the second son, however, also becomes her death. Also, at this time, her sorrow is heartrending and she refuses to be comforted. It does not matter that the midwife calls out, “Fear not, thou shalt have this son also.” Ah, what will it benefit her to have sons, now that she must die? She calls out with all her sorrow in a dying cry, “Ben-oni,” that is, son of my sorrow. Jeremiah thinks about the crying of Rachel when he hears the cries of the people as they are transported to Babylon. It is as if Rachel is crying again, not for children, but about her children “because they were not.” Joseph, signified by the ten tribes, has already been exiled to Babylon, and now also Benjamin, signified by the two tribes, is taken away. It is as if the sorrow of her deathbed is relived. Ben-oni, all of my suffering and striving has been in vain. Tell me; shall there be any expectation for Rachel’s descendants?

Jeremiah may offer comfort to those sorrowing and weeping people, “Thus saith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping…thy children shall come again to their own border.” Therefore, the children of Joseph and Benjamin shall return. No, not all of them, but the Lord shall take care that a remnant of them shall be saved. He shall convert them and bring them again to the land of their forefathers. Ephraim is a son of Joseph and a grandchild of Rachel. At the same time, Ephraim is a collective name for the nation of the ten tribes. The Lord has had many concerns with Ephraim. He had given them His Word and His statutes and had revealed Himself as the God of the covenant, but Ephraim had no desire to walk according to the ways of the Lord. Immediately after the division of the kingdom, they departed from God’s law and ordinances when Jeroboam instituted the worshipping of calves and later also added idol worship.

The Lord seriously admonished them by means of His faithful prophets. Think only of Elijah, Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah. The people, however, refused to listen. The Lord sought them and punished them with the rod and with bitter setbacks, but that did not help either. Then followed the greatest punishment—the exile. Finally, Ephraim came to repentance. No, that was not caused by the exile, but the Lord broke Ephraim’s heart. Ah, how much labor of love is necessary before a person will agree with the Lord? Look back upon your own life. How many warnings have already come your way? How often has the Lord allured you? How often has He knocked on the door of your heart by means of His Word or by exceptional occurrences in your life? A person will never give up the strife unless the Lord Himself brings him upon his knees. That is how it ensued with Ephraim. We read, “I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himself.” It is as if the Lord says, “Did I hear that correctly, is Ephraim really bemoaning himself? Has he finally come to himself?” The Lord rejoices in that change. Yea, the Lord has a pleasure in His own work.

No, Ephraim does not complain about someone else. Neither does he mention the cruel barbarianism of the oppressor which is a wonder because we are so inclined to do that. Someone else has always done it. Ephraim does not complain about the Lord; he does not accuse the Lord of injustice. That is so often the first thing we do when the Lord visits us with adversity. Oh, how much rebellion can then live in our heart. Ephraim does not feel sorry for himself; Ephraim bemoans himself before God. Have you ever bemoaned yourself because of your sinful behavior?

In former days, men used oxen, among other things, to pull the plow. Such an animal, however, had to learn to walk in a harness. The animal was trained while it was still a calf. Such a calf did not want to walk in a harness, for it was not used to that. It would then kick backwards. The owner, however, knew how to handle it. He would hold a board with sharp prongs behind the animal’s legs. If the animal would then kick backwards, it would injure itself. “Well,” says Ephraim, “I have behaved like an untrained calf. I did not wish to walk in the harness. I was not willing to serve Thee even though Thy service is such a blessed service. That is why it was necessary for Thee to chastise me. It is mine own fault.” Ephraim confesses that he has deserved the chastisement. He may kiss the rod and taste of the honey which cleaves to it. That is why he speaks of chastisements. Something of the love of God is contained therein. For we do not beat our children, but we chastise them for their welfare. Ephraim wished to say, “How good Thou hast been to me, that Thou didst not let me go my own way, that Thou wast willing to come and lead me in a right way.” No, he does not utter a dead complaint but a living complaint which is apparent in his prayer.

He does not ask that the Lord will deliver him from captivity but that the Lord will deliver him from his sins. Ephraim prays for conversion because his sins are troubling him. He is then confronted with God’s command, “Turn ye,” and that command has brought him upon his knees. He does not say, “I cannot convert myself,” but on the contrary, it is because he has learned that he cannot convert himself that he prays so earnestly for it. When God converts a person, then he tries to convert himself. There comes a total reformation, but he also comes to the realization that it is to no avail. Does he then give up? Oh no, because he must be converted to God; he can no longer be without God.

That is why he falls down upon his knees and begs, “Lord, do Thou convert me.” Ephraim has no expectation of himself. He does not pray as we find it in the new Bible translation, “Convert me and then I shall convert myself,” but he prays, “Convert me, and then I shall be truly converted, ‘for Thou art the LORD my God.’” Herein is revealed the choice of his soul. Lord, art Thou not a confirmer of Thy Word? for that is how Thou hast revealed Thyself in Thy name: LORD. Oh Lord, convert me that I may live. Observe here, the Lord Himself draws him with cords of loving kindness; that is why Ephraim comes with weeping and supplication. The Lord, therefore, shall certainly have mercy upon them, for His name is LORD.

Ephraim comes to himself, not all of Ephraim, but the remnant according to the election of God’s grace. Ephraim is filled with a sorrow after God, which works repentance to salvation, not to be repented of. He bemoans himself before the Lord because of his wicked conduct. He bows deeply under God’s punishing hand while he must confess that God’s sentence is fully righteous. Ephraim confesses his sin uprightly and mourns with shame over his unrighteousness. He is not worthy that the Lord would look upon him; the Lord would be righteous if He would cast him away, but he can no longer miss the Lord. There Ephraim lies at the feet of the Lord as a hell-worthy one. What will the Lord now do? In our text we may cast a glance into the loving heart of God, and what we become aware of is inexpressibly great. We hear the Lord as it were, thinking aloud, and He does that so that Ephraim may know His thoughts of peace toward him. We can hear the Lord say, “Is not Ephraim My dear son? is he not a pleasant child?” They are two questions which do not need an answer, for the answer is already contained in the questions.

The questions confirm more particularly the truth of what is said. The Lord confirms with these words, in a very positive manner, that Ephraim is, indeed, His dear son, His pleasant child, and that He loves Ephraim with a heartfelt love. That was totally unexpected. Ephraim had to confess to be worthy of death and of the judgment. He was worthy that the Lord would cast him away. Yet, beyond expectation, in place of an angry Judge, he may meet a loving Father. The Lord does not just call Ephraim a son, He calls him a dear son. We are very attached to something which is dear or precious unto us. What an inexpressible wonder of grace that the Lord says this wicked, disobedient Ephraim is a dear son unto Him; He is very attached to him. Just observe, it extends from the one wonder to the other. In our text it is also written that Ephraim is a pleasant child. A pleasant child is one who is exceptionally loving, one we gladly press to our heart. Joseph was Jacob’s “pleasant” child. He loved him above all his other children. What an incomprehensible wonder of grace that the Lord called Ephraim a dear son and His pleasant child. The Lord is so astonishingly good for those who fall at his feet as lost ones. Have you ever experienced that?

The Lord had already spoken to Ephraim a long time ago. Ephraim had been warned and admonished by the mouth of the prophets. The Lord had called unto him to be con-verted, but Ephraim had refused to listen. He did not wish to have anything to do with the Lord. Oh, how much sorrow had Ephraim caused the Lord. Yet, the Lord could not forget him. Then the Lord said, “Ephraim must be a dear son unto Me, for since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still.” Actually, in the original text we read, “thinking, I think of him.” Ephraim was not out of the Lord’s thoughts for a minute. When Ephraim set out on the path of sin, the Lord thought on him. When Ephraim kicked under the chastisements of the Lord as a calf unused to the harness, the Lord did not think of him in wrath but in love. It truly would not have been a wonder if the Lord had thought of him in anger and had said unto him, “Because I have called and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at naught all My counsel, and would none of My reproof: I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.”

Why is it that the love of the Lord goes out toward Ephraim? It is not because Ephraim was such a good child. Neither is it because Ephraim finally confesses his guilt. The Lord does not begin to think of Ephraim when he returns, for that returning is a result of God’s drawing power. God has had thoughts of peace toward Ephraim since eternity, and that is why Ephraim now lies at His feet. He has loved him with an eternal love. He wished to delight in him according to His sovereign good pleasure. Truly, any praise of self is totally excluded. The love wherewith the Lord wished to cherish Ephraim was so great that He did not spare His own dear Son but gave Him up to die on the cross. Who will ever be able to fathom that love? He was willing to cast away His Son so that Ephraim could again be adopted as a child. Really, when we try to understand this wonder, we must stand still with holy reverence. How can we fathom that Christ, in His time, was willing to die for sinners. Who will be able to state in words what is experienced when the Lord, for Jesus’ sake, speaks of peace and seals it unto the heart, “Since I spake against thee, I do earnestly remember thee still.” They have fallen out of the communion with God, but not out of His heart; that is why He cannot forget them and He will never forget them. David ventured to show this when he said, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.”

When we experience something unusual, it may be that we are shocked in our “bowels.” That means that it touches us in the depths of our being. That it also what these words mean. Obviously, it is a metaphor or imagery. God does not have a body: God is a Spirit. We read that when Christ looked upon the multitude, He was moved with compassion over them. That was a compassion which welled up out of the depths of His mediatorial heart. Zacharias speaks in his song of praise, “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring from on high has visited us.” The entire Being of God is therefore moved in its depths over Ephraim to do well unto him.

We also read that the Lord says, “I will surely have mercy upon him.” Why would the Lord do that? Because He loves him. But why does He love him? Because of His free good pleasure. The Lord will have compassion; He can have compassion in Christ; therefore, He shall have compassion. It is literally written in the original text, “Pitying them I will have compassion on them.” That means that He will surely and certainly do it. No one or anything can hinder it. There is no one else who can awaken this love. He loves them freely; that is the reason no one can abolish this love. God’s people may daily stumble and fall, but they cannot fall away. They are engraved in the palms of His hands.

How rich has been the Lord’s compassion over Ephraim. Even out of Ephraim there have been those who returned to the land of their forefathers. Think only of Anna, a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. The Lord had confirmed His Word unto her in a very special manner. In this way the Lord still confirms Himself over His entire Church. They may already taste of His wonderful love here below, and soon they will live with the Lord eternally. No one can hinder that. No matter how much they may be assaulted, God will fulfill His good pleasure. How blessed are those who may share in God’s compassion.

Our text ends with the significant and meaningful words, “saith the LORD.” He is the faithful, the unchangeable One. What comes forth from His lips remains firm and unbroken. How great and rich is God’s grace. It is bestowed undeservedly. Yea, it is all out of Him, through Him, and unto Him. He is worthy to receive all the glory and honor to all eternity. p

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